They Do Things Differently Here
by rhymeswithmonth
Summary: Sheltered for his youth, Ahadi's perfect world is tainted when everything he's ever known is torn away by the claws of a vengeful kin. Fleeing his bloodstained path, he stumbles into the territory of an unfamiliar pride, and is taken in by its king.
1. Wazimu I

"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

Leslie Poles

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Crouching low, Wazimu kneaded his claws into the soft dirt ground. His tan pelt blended in perfectly into the long dry grass, making him virtually invisible to his prey.

Flicking his ear, the young lion sent a subtle signal to his companion, positioned a few metres away. A flick of Vurugu's dark brown tail let him know that he'd been understood, and that his messege would be passed along to the others. Wazimu's eyes fixed back ahead, back on his doomed prey.

It had been a hard year for them. The dry season was proving to be the most devastating in living memory, so dry that the swamp where they made their home had completely evaporated. Almost no prey remained, all having died of thirst or fled to moister territory. So now they were all dying of hunger, as well as dehydration.

Already, lives of several of their elderly and a couple of cubs had been claimed. The most recent victim of the terrible drought had been Wazimu's own mother. Pregnant, she had needed twice the food of a normal lioness, a quota that had simply been impossible to meet. She had passed on the day before, taking Wazimu's unborn siblings with her, and leaving her four living cubs motherless.

It also left the pride without a queen, and in times like these, that was a terrible position to be in. The loss of their head lioness meant the loss of structure, of patterns and strategy, for it was the queen's duty to organize hunting parties. In a time of such scarce food, the death of the pride's matriarch spelled death for them all.

In his grief for his mother, Wazimu had searched desperately for someone to take revenge upon. His father, the other lionesses, the spirits of their ancestors, nothing could be done to punish them. Finally he found a tangible outlet for his rage. His new prey.

Some ways away from where Wazimu lay in wait, a large golden lion stood. He was fully grown and matured, in his prime. At the moment, his cream coloured muzzle was stained crimson with spilled blood from the felled antelope at his feet. A miraculous catch in these times of endless hunger.

Beside him was his mate, the thrill of the chase still wild in her eyes, her gore-splattered sides heaved as she caught her breath. Their half-grown son grinned up at his father. Roughly the same age as Wazimu, the young lion had the beginnings of a mane clinging to the top of his head, neck and chest.

Wazimu felt a fresh wave of hatred course through his lean body. The three of them looked healthy and their coats gleamed. Living outside of the pride meant that whatever prey they caught did not have to be divided between as many lions. They could survive the drought without loosing one of their own.

The older male, this golden father, was Wazimu's cousin, his father's sister's son. He and his mate had left the pride years ago, for unknown reasons. But because of their relationship to the king, they had been left in peace and allowed to live in the swamplands, protected by King Vyeo's word.

And stealing the prey right from the mouths of their cubs. This antelope was only one of the many animals this family had taken from Wazimu's pride. It was criminal that his father continued to let this happen, even as his own family weakened around him. He was growing soft, Wazimu decided. As his old age was beginning to show, king Vyeo was loosing track of his priorities. It was now up to his young, strong-willed son to make sure his pride continued to thrive.

And so Wazimu had gathered up a group of young lions who he knew shared his views. Two other males, Vurugu and, Kuumiza, as well as four lionesses, Kutii, Vitimbi and twins Licha and Vita. They would win this fight. They were all young and strong, despite the ribs showing through their skin. With the element of surprise, and the spurs of revenge at their sides, they would win. The 2-1 odds would ensure it.

They had planned it out; Kuumiza and Vitimbi would take out the young one while Wazimu, Vurugu and Kutii fought his father. The mate would be easy to finish, for she had recently given birth, and the hunt had drained her energy. The twins would have no problem. And after they were dead, Wazimu would track down their other two cubs and kill them himself.

And his vengeance would be complete. Queen Malkia would be able to rest in peace, knowing that her eldest son had killed the ones who caused her death. Her family would eat and live.

With a ferocious snarl, the avengers sprang from where they'd surrounded their prey. Blood would repay blood.

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Prologue! Characters belong to me. If you want to know what the names mean, google translate Swahili - English. They all have some bit of reason behind them.

Hope you enjoyed. More familiar characters will appear next chapter.


	2. Ahadi I

Ahadi groaned out loud and rolled onto his back. It was just after sunset, and the sky was still stained dark orange from the lingering daylight. A soft wind rustled his sand coloured fur. The comfortable temperature of the evening was a welcome relief after the scorching heat of that day.

His mother and father were out hunting. They'd been gone for hours, but Ahadi wasn't worried. These days it took ages for them to bring the food back. Ahadi's stomach rumbled, he hoped they'd return soon.

They'd taken Tu out with them. It was so unfair. Ahadi's older brother always got to go with their parents, while he was stuck here babysitting. He glanced up at his tiny charge. It was so boring.

Oblivious to her brother's foul mood, Huzuni batted at a beetle, her green eyes wide in wonder. Not even two weeks old, this was the tiny cub's first time being away from her mother. She didn't seem bothered though. She had been cheerfully exploring the small clearing all day. Truly a good-natured little lion.

Despite himself, Ahadi smiled at his baby sister's squeak of dismay when the beetle disappeared down a crack in the dry earth. Curling his tail around, he swept it in front of Hazuni's nose. Bug forgotten, Hazuni was soon absorbed in the game of pounce.

Since her birth, Huzuni had wiggled her way into Ahadi's heart, her sweet disposition chasing away any jealous sentiments he might have felt. She was a delightful addition to their little family, and it was kind of nice not to be the smallest anymore.

Of course Tu loved her too. But then again, Tu loved everybody. From the little mice Ahadi practiced catching, to the great elephant mothers that had marched through their territory on their annual migration, Tu loved all life. It made hunting a very tough business, and their parents were trying their best to rid him of the sentiment. Ahadi smirked at the memory of Tu's first kill. The poor lion had had a panic attack when he realized what he'd done to the little mole.

Ahadi's nose twitched. The smell of blood trickled to him on the breeze, making his mouth water. Jumping to his feet, the young lion eagerly bounded to the edge of the clearing. It smelled like a lot of blood! They must have made a big kill. Quivering with anticipation, he strained to see if he could spot them coming. Soon his empty belly would be filled.

But minutes passed without a sign of them, though the blood scent continued to grow stronger. Impatiently Ahadi paced. Then he was struck with an idea; perhaps they needed help. Maybe they'd brought down a zebra or something, and needed him to carry some meat back. He'd better go check and see, it smelled like they were close anyway.

Padding over to Huzuni, he crouched to her level and said "Now Zuni, I'm going out for a minute. I won't be gone long, and I'll bring you back a hoof to play with, okay?" The cub responded by rubbing her little face against Ahadi's shoulder. He signed in exasperation. Walking to the far edge of the clearing he looked back. "Don't go anywhere Huzuni, I'll be back soon!"

And with that he was racing through the grass. It felt so good to run! Being cooped up like that had been dreadful, and finally doing something useful was so much better. Pausing to sniff at the air, Ahadi adjusted his course minutely and continued on the the source of the scent.

He came to a stop at a patch of scraggly bushes. The source of the delicious smell was coming from behind them. Grinning, Ahadi kept low to the ground as he rounded the corner. Sneaking up on Tu would be a great joke.

The sight that greeted him shattered Ahadi's young world. The previously enticing smell turned putrid, and he began to retch, his empty stomach trying desperately to expel the meal he'd never consumed.

His choking quickly turned to wretched sobbing. Staggering forward, he let out a wail of disbelief.

The first body he came to was his brother's. Tu's eyes were open, glazed over, and frozen wide in an expression of terror. Ahadi couldn't bare to look any longer. The pale fur of his brother's neck was completely shredded, his throat torn out. It was a gruesome contrast to the rest of his body, which was unchanged. His pale coat was pristine, with hardly a drop of crimson to be seen. With his limbs arranged as they were, he could have been sleeping.

Skirting Tu's corpse, Ahadi bounded to his fallen parents. They were not nearly as intact as their eldest son. It appeared that they'd put up more of a fight than poor meek Tu had.

Kweli was the worst off. She was so torn up that Ahadi could barley tell it was her. Her kind face was a bloody mess, clawed beyond recognition. Her sides were slashed terribly, and Ahadi could make out the glistening of intestines. Not a single inch of her golden fur was clean of blood.

Moaning, Ahadi backed away from his broken mother, and his hind paw brushed against something wet. Behind him, Roho's body lay.

The great lion's normally gentle features were fixed in an expression of indescribable rage. He was sprawled in a position that made it obvious that he'd gone down fighting. Wailing like an abandoned newborn, Ahadi pressed his face into his father's disheveled mane.

Broken, grief-filled thoughts raced through his mind. But the most predominate question was "why". Why, why, why, why, WHY?

After some time, Ahadi raised his head. A numb emotionlessness had settled over him, and he found it easier to think clearly. He had to be level-headed, he was the leaded now that his father gone. No matter how few members of his family were left, he still had responsibilities. And right now, his priority had to be his remaining kin. Hazuni was waiting for him.

Turning, Ahadi raced away from the bodies of his family. His baby sister needed him.

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A bit of gory imagery there for you. Poor Ahadi


	3. Wazimu II

The high of the successful hunt made them all giddy. The seven adolescents frolicked like cubs. Vurugu and Kuumiza ran with their heads held high. Kuumiza shook his mane and roared exuberantly, startling a flock of egrets, which noisily took flight. Licha and Vita gave delighted shouts, and took off in pursuit.

Wazimu licked his bloody jaws and savored the flavour. Not of the metallic mess no, he wasn't _that _twisted. No, he savored the mood, the electronic comradie that was strong between them. He paced along proudly but it took all of his self control not to romp alongside the others. Vitimbi fell back to walk beside him. Her dark eyes glowed with admiration and…something else. Wazimu smirked at the older lioness attention. Encouraged by his grin, she rubbed her nose along his jaw sensually, a deep purr rising in her throat.

The plan had worked. Not perfectly exactly, but well enough. The prey was dead, and that was what mattered. Sure they had suffered a couple blows; Kutii was limping badly, having one of her claws ripped clean off. Each of them sported at least a scratch, but they had all come out of it alive.

Now all they had to do was finish the job. It needed to be a clean swipe, all members eliminated. Wazimu didn't see this as cruelty, exactly the opposite in fact. He knew what it was like to lose a parent, and wouldn't wish it on any lion, not even a good-for-nothing prey stealer. He was sparing the two young offspring the long, painful death that was guaranteed them if they were left alone out here.

Absorbed in his smug musings, the arrival of his father took him completely by surprise. King Vyeo burst onto the path in front of him in his usual manner; full of pomp and circumstance. He was flanked by two of his top lionesses, three others following close behind. Lifting his head, he glared coolly down at his eldest child.

Vyeo was not a particularly large lion, especially considering that he ruled a pride, and already Wazimu stood taller than him. In the weeks that his pride had been suffering, Vyeo had given up his portion of every kill to the suckling mothers and there cubs, and he was now painfully thin. This selflessness might have appeared positive to most, but as Wazimu saw it, his father was being beyond idiotic. They had just lost their beloved queen, and now their king was starving himself? This was no way to run a family.

The appearance of his father now -as they celebrated the murder of his nephew- was very bad indeed. Wazimu needed to think fast unless he wanted to face the wrath of one very displeased king.

"What is the meaning of this?" The king rumbled "Explain your state, blood-covered and sporting injuries, each of you!"

The others had, thankfully, halted their antics before Vyeo had a chance to see. They now slunk shamefully to stand behind Wazimu. A moment ago, they had felt invincible, like unstoppable warriors. Standing before the stern monarch's entourage, they felt reduced to foolish cubs who'd been caught straying from the nursery.

The degrading feeling that settled in because of his father's presence alone made Wazimu furious. It was the way it had always been, Vyeo putting him down at every turn. He refused to succumb to it this time. Keeping his ground, Wazimu looked the older lion straight in the eye. "Oh it's just tragic!" He lamented, hanging his head in mock grief. "We did everything we could father, we tried to save them! But it was no use, by the time we got there, it was far too late."

Alarmed, Vyeo snarled impatiently. "Spit it out boy, what in spirits name are you talking about? Who's hurt?"

"Oh if only they weren't hurt father, if only, if only. It's poor cousin Roho, he's been murdered! His mate and eldest cub too!"

The king appeared to reel at the news. "Roho?" he gasped, the lionesses behind him gasped in dismay. One of them, Kweli's younger sister Jama, let out a wail of disbelief. "Who has done this?"

"A band of rogue males father, four of them. They snuck up on them as they were eating their kill; they probably were after the meat. We heard the noise and rushed to them as fast as we could."

"Rogues!" Vyeo roared in fury, "Where are the brutes now? How dare they trespass here?"

"We chased them father" Wazimu replied, eager, despite himself, to earn his father's acknowledgement. "They ran with their tails between their legs when they realized that they were no match for us!" Behind him, they others nodded dumbly.

Ignoring his son, the king turned somberly to one of his senior lionesses. "Shauri, take a group to run the perimetre, make sure there's no sign of any strangers. Kupata, take the rest and find the bodies." Wazimu started to slip away while Vyeo was occupied. "And where do you think you're going?"

"Uhhmm..." Wazimu searched his mind frantically. He needed to come up with a reason to leave alone in order to quickley find the two little brats. But before he could say something a quiet sound reached the lions' sharp ears.

The entire group turned to watch as a tiny cub tumbled out of the long grass to land at Wazimu's feet.

Startled, Wazimu stared at the little creature. She seemed impossibly small next to his unsheathed claws. Her fur was the pale colour of cream, still newborn soft. At the moment, her eyes were scrunched shut and pink jaws stretched wide open in a pitious mewl. Wazimu stared down absolutly flabbergasted. The last thing he expected was for his prey to come to him.

All at once, the cub seemed to realize that she was no longer alone, and ceased her cries. Her grass green eyes opened and connected with Wazimu's own brown ones. Her mood seemed to do a complete one-eighty, and she leaped unsteadily to her paws and pushed herself against Wazimu's front leg. Too asounded to do anything, he just stood there and let the little thing cuddle up against him.

Vyeo and his lionesses watched in silence until the king broke the silence and stepped towards his son. "That must be Roho's youngest." He declared bending to sniff the cub. She flinched at the sight of the lion's big, wet nose and huddled up against Wazimu. "And she seems to have taken a liking to you son. If I recall correctly, Roho told me that they named her Huzuni."

"Badala!" he addressed one of the remaining lionesses. "You're Wakubwa is about ready to be weaned is he not? Take this little one and care for her. She will be raised as my daughter, in place of the cubs that were lost to me."

Wazimu gaped at his father as Badala retreaved the cub from his paws. "What do you mean? We have no more room for more hungary mouths!"

Vyeo snarled angrily. "Don't question me! This cub is now your sister, and I expect you to look after her as you would a true sibling. And if we are able to find the third child, he will be welcome in my pride as well, do you understand me?"

Wazimu glowered at the retreating form of Badala, Huzuni dangling from her mouth. "I understand perfectly father." He answered bitterly.

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Thanks so much to my lone reviewer **Scrantron** for your lovely comment. They are always apprechiated so, let me know what you think please everbody!


	4. Ahadi II

Finding the nursery clearing empty was almost as bad as finding his dead family. Spinning around in a panic, Ahadi called Huzuni's name over and over again. But it seemed hopeless; the little lioness was nowhere to be found.

Putting is nose to the ground, Ahadi searched for her scent. Picking up a whiff of soft milky baby, he followed it hurriedly back the way he'd come. He was frightened now, for Huzuni. Whatever, or rather, whoever had killed his parents and Tu was likely still in the area. If they got Huzuni too…. Ahadi didn't even want to think of it.

The young lion slowed when he heard voices in the distance. Creeping forward silently took all the stalking training his mother had ever taught him. Peering out from his hiding place, Ahadi's worst fears were realized.

Her tiny body dangled limply from the mouth of a strange lioness. Grouped around were more strangers, and to Ahadi's sorrow, he saw that many of them had blood-covered coats. The last intact piece of his heart shattered and Ahadi turned tail and ran, not able to spend another moment looking at his beloved sister's tiny body.

He had no idea where he ran to, just that he felt the overwhelming need to run away, to leave his broken life behind and forget everything he'd seen today.

And he succeeded in doing that, if just for a few hours. Ahadi ran until his mind was blank with exhaustion. Not once did he stop, not even when he tripped and tore one of his pads. He kept on going until his poor legs collapsed.

He lay where he fell, panting mindlessly. He managed to drag himself into the shelter between two boulders before passing out.

When he woke up, it was midday. Ahadi looked around blearily, the horrors from the night before rushed back to him with new clarity. Sobbing hollowly, he examined his surroundings. It seemed that he was no longer in the swamp. The vegetation that he could see was slightly different, and it was, if possible even drier.

Heaving himself to his aching feet, Ahadi left the shade of his little shelter and into the burning sun. He needed to keep moving, he still felt the violence behind him. It prickled along his spine, tugging at his instincts and making his fur stand up on end.

He was dreadfully thirsty. The lack of moisture in his mouth was sticky and all consuming. He needed to find a water hole as soon as possible, but he currently couldn't smell any. So he'd keep walking.

But Ahadi was severely dehydrated and quickly slowed. Barely two hours later and he could barely keep on his feet. Finally, he gave up and shakily lowered himself down in the shadow of a boulder. Why was he even bothering trying to find a drink? It would be better if he just died here. Laying his throbbing head on his blistered paws, Ahadi let the tears run down his cheeks. He watched dismally as the precious liquid dripped onto the dirt and was immediately soaked in, but he just couldn't bring himself to care.

But apparently, dying wasn't as easy to achieve as he'd thought, and the next morning's sunrise greeted a decidedly alive Ahadi. Although he was not feeling well at all. He was tremendously thirsty, and something felt wrong with his eyes. His head hurt even worse than before.

The last time he'd had a drink was two days ago. The morning before the murder of his family, they had all gone down to what was left of the waterhole.

Ahadi had dashed ahead, feeling hyped and playful. To his delight, Tu had given chase, and the two of them shoved and scuffled with each other all the way there. Behind them, their parents had walked slowly, sides brushing lovingly, a sleepy Huzuni dangling from Kweli's mouth.

Ahadi lost himself in the memory, the joy of his brother's companionship, the gentle eyes of their parents watching over them, the simple happiness of being with the ones he loved.

A sound startled him from his half-conscious state. Opening his eyes half way, he saw exactly the thing that he hadn't wanted to see.

Strange lions. Two of them, just metres away. And they were staring straight at him. The sight filled him with electrifying fear _I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die Idon'twannadieidontwannadie_ He realized that, against his depressed thoughts earlier, he was not ready for death.

Ahadi struggled to get to his feet, but found himself too weak. One of the strangers was approaching, nearly upon him. The terrified lion squeezed his eyes shut, whole body tensed and ready for the inevitable.

But inevitable never came, and Ahadi tentatively eased one eye open. One of the lions, a female, was standing over him, face inches from his own with her nose wrinkled in delicate disgust. When she saw that he was, in fact, alive, the lioness backed off a bit.

Ahadi stared nervously at her in astonishment. She was a strange looking lion, he thought. She looked quite a bit older than him, for she was considerably larger. Her fun was a dark reddish hue and her eyes were the same colour. She was well muscled, unusually stalky especially for a female. Her facial features were odd as well, with a broader shaped nose and muzzle that made her brown almond shaped eyes look smaller than he was used to.

"Daddy!" She called to her companion "He's awake, he's looking right at me!"

The older lion joined his daughter at Ahadi's side. He was a full-grown male, a little younger than Ahadi's own father, but much bigger. His mane was impressively full, one that any lion would be jealous of. The dark tan colour of his coat was only a shade lighter than the long chestnut hair.

Sure that he was about to be murdered, Ahadi tucked his tail flush against his belly, and flattened himself into a position of full submission. This was the first time in his life that he'd come face-to-face with anyone besides his family. His parents had kept their children away from pridelife, choosing instead to raise their family outside the usual structure. They'd told them that it was to avoid the internal power struggle that was unavoidable when living in such a large group. However, they'd made it clear that the cubs were free to choose to leave and join the pride if they wished, once they reached adulthood. Roho had taken Tu to meet with their great uncle, the king not long ago. But Tu had returned with no desire to leave their family.

The huge male peered down at him curiously. The massive shoulders were relaxed; his ears perked forward casually twitching. His claws were completely sheathed. "Be calm, little one." He spoke, his voice a deep rumble that reminded Ahadi of thunder over the savanna. "We mean you no harm."

"Yah!" His daughter pranced closer. "Get up you baby, you look ridiculous!"

"Uru!" The male warned sternly. The lioness pouted, but heeded her father, and stopped jumping and sat down beside him, wrapping her tail daintily around her cream coloured paws.

Still afraid, Ahadi managed to push himself up into a crouch. But his legs shook visibly from exhaustion, and he felt bleary and lightheaded. With an alarmed look, the huge brown lion noticed this, and his head loomed forward to sniff concernedly at the smaller male. Uru tilted her head to the side "You look terrible." She supplied helpfully. Her father evidently agreed, because his fluffy brows were drawn together into a frown.

"Where is your pride young one?" He asked. "What are you doing so close to pride rock?"

"I-I don't h-have an pride s-sir. And I'm s-s-sorry, I didn't know this was your l-land." Ahadi stuttered, his voice an embarrassing squeak.

"You're parents then? You're far too young to be a loner."

The thought of explaining what had happened made Ahadi's chest hurt, so he lied. "I-I don't have parents either sir. I'm living on my, on my o-own."

The lion gazed down silently for several moments, in which Uru began to fidget impatiently. Finally, he rose to his feet. "You'd better come back with us then." He began to walk away, Uru bounding ahead cheerfully. "You can share today's catch, there's plenty left."

The offer of food was too much to refuse, so Ahadi struggled to follow. He managed a few steps before his hind legs gave away, the rest of his body following suit. Looking back, the large lion sighed sadly. Without a word, he strode back to Ahadi and took hold of his scruff. Too weak to even protest the humiliation of being carried like an infant, Ahadi instinctively curled up into the proper cub-carrying position.

Uru, thankfully didn't say anything when they caught up to her. Ahadi already had the impression that she was the most energetic individual than he'd ever encountered. He watched her lope alongside her father, enviously watching her lean muscles glide smoothly under her gleaming pelt as she effortlessly kept pace with her long-legged father.

Lifting his head to look into the distance, Ahadi gaped at the sight that greeted him. Rising out from the horizon was the most gargantuan rock formation he'd ever seen. The flat red stone pointed proudly to the heavens, the many caves around its base milling with lions. Lush trees and bushes grew around a mini oasis in the long shadow that the craggy rocks cast. It looked perfect.

A regal looking lioness greeted them when they drew closer. Uru ran forward, and the other female stopped to nuzzle her warmly. "Mother, mother!" Uru exclaimed excitedly. "Look what I found, look, look! It's a cub! You see? I found him mother, down by rock pile, and he is too weak to walk!" The lioness looked at Ahadi, her light hazel eyes scanning his body critically. "Oh dear." She murmured sadly. "The poor thing is skin and bones! You'd better get him inside."

The den situated in the mouth of the huge rock was blissfully cool. Ahadi was set down in the back corner of the cave. There were a couple lionesses lazing around, bellies round from their last meal. He even noticed a cub or two peeking curiously around their mothers at him.

Uru's mother appeared in front of him with a palm frond drenched in water. Gratefully, Ahadi dragged himself forward and lapped at the liquid. Never before had he appreciated a simple drink of water like he did now. He could feel the life-giving fluid seep into his body, restoring energy every second. He strained to reach every drop, running his tongue between each leaf twice to make sure. The lioness watched him, an expression of deep sadness on her face, and when he was done, she went to fetch him another.

Uru appeared then, bringing the succulent smell of meat with her. She had a thick slab of meat under her paw, and she slid it forward to rest by Ahadi's nose. So grateful that tears filled his eyes, Ahadi ripped a chunk off and began to devour the food. It wasn't fresh, probably having been killed a few days ago, but it was the best thing he'd ever tasted.

The huge brown lion came back his mate at his side, and took a seat beside his daughter to watch as Ahadi polished off his meal. Once every scrap of meat had disappeared down his gut, the older lion addressed him. "Now young one, tell us, what is your name?"

"I'm Ahadi," said Ahadi. "Thank you for sharing your kill."

"Of course dear" The lioness spoke softly. "You are welcome to stay as long as you need, and recover in safety. My name is Kifa, and I am queen of this pride. My mate is Mohatu, king of these lands. Uru, my daughter sits beside him."

Ahadi looked up at the kindly queen. She was very different in appearance than his own mother had been. Where Kweli's fur had been creamy yellow, this queen's was rusty orange. His mother had had angular, delicate features while Kifa's nose was broader even than her mate's. This queen stood a good few heads taller than his deceased mother and, like her daughter, was more muscular than even Roho had been. But despite their physical differences, Kifa radiated a maternal gentleness that made Ahadi feel like a tiny cub again.

Shaking, Ahadi finally broke down. He was safe, fed, and now he was able to let his guard down completely. Curling up on himself, Ahadi buried his muzzle into his tail and cried. Gasping, Kifa leapt to his side and him cuddled against her. Her great rough tongue rasped against his face, lapping up his tears. "There, there little one. You're safe now, let it out baby." She cooed into his ear. Ahadi did just that. He cried into the gentle queen's fur until he fell into the blissful numbness of sleep.


	5. Huzuni I

"Zuni, HUZUNI! I said wait up!"

Huzuni glanced over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out cheekily. Leaping across the stream, she kept on running. Wakubwa moaned long-sufferingly. Pushing himself faster, he continued to chase after the younger cub.

Splashing through the muddy puddles, Huzuni laughed in delight. Another rainstorm had come in the night, leaving the floodplains even fuller than before, and turning the pride's hunting grounds into a water-filled wonderland.

The dry season had officially come to an end the week before, with the first of the many storms roaring over the savanna. Now their home was restored to its natural state. The grass was once again green, crisscrossed by winding trails of water created by the hippos that were slowly returning with the rains. Other creatures that had fled during the drought were showing up as well. Currently, Huzuni was running off to investigate the funny looking pink birds that Kidogo had spotted.

Wakubwa caught up to her as she came to the edge of the massive lake that had filled up the lowlands. The older cub stood beside her and they both stared at the flock of flamingos forging in front of them. "Wow" breathed Huzuni, her green eyes gleaming in awe. "There's so many of them."

"Yeah" Wakubwa agreed. It certainly was an amazing sight; the great flock was all converged here. The adults stalked around on long, surprisingly graceful legs, dipping their curved beaks under the clam green water to catch the tiny pink shrimp. The young flamingos flailed around in the shallows, waiting for their microscopic meals to be brought to them by their doting parents. He smiled happily. This scene truly showed how drastically the week of rain had changed the parched land back into a flourishing swamp.

"ATTACK!" From beside him, Huzuni sprang and sprinted down the hill "Not again!" Wakubwa cried despairingly. "HUZUNI!"

But the rambunctious little lion paid no heed, and she barreled down the slope and splashed into the water. Startled, the chicks let out a horrible squalor of alarm. The entire flock sprang into action.

Huzuni giggled in glee as she pounced and leapt at the baby birds, absorbed in her game, not intending to hurt them. But their parents certainly didn't know that. Squawking their rage, a group of full-grown flamingos charged to defend their young.

Finally realizing the danger she was in, Huzuni turned tail and ran back toward Wakubwa. But it was too late. One of the birds snapped its beak down on her tail, effectively dragging her back. Mewling loudly in distress, Wakubwa trembled. He didn't know what to do! She needed help, and fast! But close up and angry, the pink birds didn't look so silly. Puffed up and furious, he could see just how big they were, and how sharp those funny beaks and gangly legs really looked.

Before Wakubwa could make up his mind, a great roar split the air. Freezing as a shadow passed directly over him, the young lion looked up in time to see Wazimu's long body soar overhead. Landing halfway down the bank, the older lion coiled his muscles, and with one more leap landed with an impressive splash beside Huzuni. Snarling viciously, he swept his unsheathed claws at the hoard of birds that were tormenting the cub.

Not willing to clash with the stronger male lion, the birds noisily retreated to a safe distance, shepherding their children to the opposite shore. They settled there, and proceeded to ignore the three lions on the other side.

Wakubwa dashed to Huzuni's side as she stumbled, shivering, out of the water. The poor cub was drenched through, her pale fun clinging to her little body pathetically. She sported multiple scratches all over her body, with a particularly sore looking one bleeding slowly on her nose.

"Zuni!" Wakubwa cried, "Are you okay?" Opening her mouth to reply, Huzuni was cut off by Wazimu's cross voice. "Of course she isn't you foolish cub, she's just been mauled by five adult flamingos!"

Wakubwa cringed and looked at his feet. Wazimu was an intimidating lion, and he'd always been a little frightened of him. Now the older male was looming over the cub, his brown eyes pining him in place.

Huzuni looked between her angry adoptive brother and her scared best friend. Puffing her chest out, she put herself in front of Wazimu. "It's not Waku's fault!" She burst "He tired to tell me not to!"

"Then why didn't you listen?" Wazimu roared, making both lions jump. Huzuni pressed her ears back. She'd never seen her brother so worked up before. "You are both brainless. What were you thinking, bothering the flock like that? It's no wonder you got into this mess."

"I-I didn't-"

"You didn't what?"

"I didn't KNOW" Huzuni shouted defensively. Sniffing, she looked up at Wazimu tearfully. "I'm sorry brother." She whimpered. "I'll never do it again. Just…don't be mad at Waku."

Taken aback, Wazimu frowned darkly. "Whatever" He snapped. "But playtime is over. You will not be allowed to leave the grove for the rest of the day."

Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, Wazimu hefted his sister up, and bounded up the hill and back onto the plateau. Scrambling up behind them, Wakubwa had to sprint to keep up. But by the time Wazimu pulled up to the pride's home tree, he had fallen quite a ways behind.

The pride's base was located in a patch of trees in the centre of the glass-covered plateau. One of the trees there, a giant Marula, had grown to a rare size. Its branches had become so heavy that they hung to the ground, creating a cave-like shelter all around the massive trunk. The leaves of the tree provided a roof that sheltered the lions inside from the elements. And in the wet season, it grew ripe green fruit that fell to the ground in late spring. The fruit provided amusement for many of the cubs, and though it was unusual for lions to consume vegetation, some in the pride had developed a fondness for the tart plant.

Wazimu set Huzuni down beside one of the gnarled roots. Spotting two more of her adopted siblings, Huzuni ran over to them. Kulea, the second eldest of King Vyeo's children, raised her head as she approached.

"Oh Huzuni!" She exclaimed in chagrin. "Look at your poor nose! Your covered with scratches, and soaking wet on top of it! Whatever happened to you?" Pulling the younger female close, Kulea began to vigorously groom her.

From beside them, Kulea's twin Kulen chuckled softly. "Yes little sister." He sighed. "What did you get into this time?"

"She decided to get into a fight with ten mother flamingo's" Came Wazimu's biting remark from behind her. The eldest brother stalked closer, but didn't sit down. As always, his narrowed eyes were fixed on Kulen, trying to cow the younger male into submission with his glower. But Kulen never let Wazimu's bad temper get to him, and ignored his brother, keeping his head held high, and the smile fixed firmly on his face. This seemed to make Wazimu even surlier, for he sneered and proceeded to move away.

Huzuni watched his walk deeper into the shadow of the tree wistfully. She just didn't understand why he was so unhappy all the time. He wasn't like the rest of her adopted family. King Vyeo and his children were a noble ruling family. Since the death of Queen Malkia, who Huzuni had never known, Vyeo had worked tirelessly to rebuild his pride, and the first and most crucial step had been to take a new queen. Pili was a shy young lioness, but she was an amazing hunter, perhaps the best in the pride.

Wazimu had never accepted Pili as his stepmother, nor as queen. The bitter young lion saw it as a betrayal to his late mother that his father could move on so quickly. So he had taken to pushing the lioness around. Not in front of his father, of course, and Pili was too timid to ever say anything.

A void had grown between Wazimu and his siblings. Kulea and Kulen opposed his cruelty toward Pili, and made it their mission to shield her from his bitterness as much as possible. The way that they looked after their step-mother was a strange reversal of the standard parent-child relationship.

Hofu, Queen Malkia's youngest living cub was downright terrified of Wazimu. He was very observant for his age, and had seen the anger and wrath that was hidden under his surly personality. The oldest son didn't even try to hide it from his brother, for he knew that Hofu was too scared of him to tell anyone.

But he was still family, the only family she knew. Huzuni recalled how terrified she'd been while the flamingos attacked her. She'd been unable to escape, and it had felt terrible. And Wazimu had rescued her. He had come and, without faltering for even a moment, had chased the angry fowl away. He had taken her away from that place and carried her in his mouth all the way home.

Wriggling out of Kulea's grasp, Huzuni walked hesitantly over to where her oldest brother lay alone. Settling down a considerable distance away, she examined his stiff form curiously. He was obviously aware that she was here, but appeared to be ignoring her presence. Keeping her eyes fixed on his face, she inched closer, until she was right beside him.

Cracking an eye open to glare at her, Wazimu growled moodily. But he didn't push her away, and that boosted her confidence. Rolling all the way to his side, she came to a stop on her back, pressed against his warm stomach. Purring contentedly, Huzuni closed her eyes. If he'd saved her, he couldn't be all bad.

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Yay another chappy. Thanks for the reviews guys, they really inspire me!

I was asked about Ahadi's age, so I'm going to write all of the characters relative ages. Oh and, this chapter takes place some time after the others, about a month later. Since I'm not sure about 'lion years', I'm going to say how old each character would be if they were a human.

Hununi- 2 (first chapters) 5 (this chapter)

Ahadi-12 (First) 15 (second)

Uru-10 / 13

Wazimu- 15 / 18

Roho- 35

Kweli- 35

Tu- 16

Vyeo- 52

Malkia-46

Pili- 23

Kulea & Kulen- 13 / 16

Hofu- 8 / 11

Wakubwa- 3 / 6

Vitimbi- 18 / 21

Licha & Vita- 14 / 17

Kuuti- 16 / 19

Vurugu- 20 / 23

Kuumiza- 15 / 18


	6. Ahadi III

"What do you mean?" Ahadi asked, shocked. "Why can't I come with you guys?"

Uru stared at her friend like he was an idiot. Farther off, Kisip, Tabini and Nadra wore similar expressions. Macka was already standing on the plain, waiting for the rest of them. "Are you kidding?" Nadra shrieked obnoxiously, "You're a boy you weirdo, of course you can't come!"

Ahadi heard muffled snickering from behind him. Looking back, he glimpsed Rutto and Kass lying together on top of a flat slab of rock. "What a nerd!" Kass crowed. "You should just let him go Uru, he's practically one of the girls anyway."

Uru rolled her eyes and ignored the cackling males. "Oh Ahadi." She sighed, "I know you went hunting with your family in the swamplands, but it doesn't work that way here." She exchanged a knowing glance with Kisip. "You males don't go hunting, it's our duty, as lionesses, to catch the prey." Nadra nodded vigorously, her head bobbing up and down so fast that Ahadi thought that it was a wonder it didn't fall off. The other females raised their heads proudly.

It was twilight, and the five young lionesses were about to head out on the most important coming of age ritual of their lives. It was time for them to perform their first real hunt. There would be no supervision or direction from the adults. They had spent days together, planning out strategies and assigning roles. As princess, the role of head hunter naturally fell to Uru, and she had so far done her job beautifully. The young lion was a talented leader with a knack for hunting patterns.

Ahadi had been living with the pride for two months now, but he still couldn't understand all their ways. In his family, everyone had contributed to getting meals. Roho and Kweli had worked together to catch the prey animals, and once Tu was old enough, so had he. Their parents had been training Ahadi to hunt too, and by now he should have been hunting alongside his family, and tutoring Huzuni in stalking small rodents and sneaking up on birds.

However, the hardest thing to get used to was the mealtimes. There was a strict pecking order within the pride when it came to eating their kill. Even though it was the females who caught the prey, the males were always the first to eat. Mohatu was always, always first, no exception. Then the younger males took their turn. Only when they had eaten their fill were the lionesses allowed to move in and take part in the feast.

This routine was baffling to Ahadi, and the first little while that he'd lived with Mohatu's family, he'd messed up many times. He vividly remembered the first kill that the lionesses had brought in; a few days after Uru and Mohatu had found him. At the sight of the fresh, steaming meat, the young lion had been so exited that he charged right in.

The entire pride had been outraged when the strange new cub had ripped a piece of meat off, and swallowed it before anyone had a chance to stop him. Ahadi found out later that such an offence would normally call for banishment from the pridelands.

But Mohatu had shown incredible kindness, and had forgiven the younger male for his faux pas. Ahadi was allowed to stay.

As he watched Uru and the other females disappear into the long grass, Ahadi sighed and turned away. The thought of hunting had been like a shining dream to him for as long as he could remember. Now, it seemed, the goal had been ripped away.

Rutto and Kass followed Ahadi down to the water hole. The two were the only males close to Ahadi's age, but he was not yet sure what their relationship was.

Rutto was a cocky young lion with a golden brown coat and a brown mane that he was way too proud of. His cousin Kass was more bearable. He was a thoughtful lion with long legs and dull fur, his mane was dark brown.

Ahadi supposed that he'd consider them his friends, but it was true, he'd much rather be hanging around with Uru. The young females were much less judgmental than these two. They accepted Ahadi's differences more readily, and didn't tease him about them. Accept for Nadra. For some reason the bossy young lioness always found the need to shove Ahadi around.

Ahadi stared at his reflection in the water, and silently willed the black tuft of hair on his head to grow. Since his family had been killed, the progress of his mane had practically halted. He looked much the same as he had back then, only a little bit larger. It turned out that he was actually older than Uru and the others by nearly half a season. The lions in this pride were just naturally larger than the ones in Ahadi's swampy home. While his kin were all lean with ropy muscles from gliding through the water of the marshes, the lions of the grasslands were much bulkier, with massive shoulders and impressively thick legs.

Already, Rutto and Kass dwarfed him when they were together, and the two of them had nearly complete manes. All Ahadi could claim was that he'd lost his cub-fat and slimmed out. The hair on his head had spread down a few inches, and a small patch had made an appearance on his chest, but he looked like a baby compared even to the cubs that had been born a season after him.

Even the females were larger than he was, Uru could easily pin him down when they played. It was downright humiliating.

Kifa assure him that it was just the lingering affects of his traumatic experience. Any time now, she said, he'd have a growth spurt and his mane would come in just as thick as anyone else's. Ahadi wished he could have as much confidence as she did. Some nights he'd have nightmares that he was stuck in the body of a cub for his whole life, forever watching as demon hyenas ate his parents' bodies alive, but his mane was too short to save them. Some advice, never eat cape buffalo before bedtime.

Rutto was splashing around in the water, drawing a few glares from the adults lounging in the shade a ways off. "Stop that racket you naughty cubs!" yelled Pemuda, one of the elders, grouchily. "We're trying to sleep over here."

"Last time I checked, this wasn't your waterhole old lady!" Rutto shouted rudely, waving his behind in her direction. The lioness snarled, and Kass meekly nudged his cousin. "Come on Rutto, we'd better go. Didn't you say you wanted to find the spot that was hit by lightning last night?"

This proved an excellent distraction, and Rutto promptly leapt from the pond. Shaking himself dry (and splattering his companions with water) He pranced away. "Come on ladies! What'r ya waiting for?" Shaking his head at Ahadi, they followed the energetic male.

As they ran after Rutto, Kass turned to look at Ahadi thoughtfully. The smaller lion grew uncomfortable after being stared at for a few minute "What?" He asked defensively, wondering if he had mud on his face.

Turning his eyes back to the distant form of his cousin, Kass sighed heavily. "Nothing much, just thinking."

Ahadi felt compelled to ask. "Thinking about what?"

"Well," Kass began slowly. He had a habit of taking long pauses when he was thinking. Rutto found it infuriating, and made his feelings known, but Ahadi didn't mind. It meant that whatever the lion said, he had thought it over carefully, therefore, meaning every word.

"It's the girls' first hunt today." Kass continued. "And you know what that means."

Ahadi did. This was one tradition that his parents had told him about, that the swampland pride shared with this one. When the male cubs reached a certain age, they set off on their own, wandering the savanna and fending for themselves. Often, they would join up with other lone males and form all-male prides. The goal of a lone male's life was to find a female, one who had wandered from her own pride, and convince her to mate with him. Oftentimes, the lioness would except, and mate with the loner. But they mostly chose to return to their family and give birth to their young in the security of their prides, where they knew they'd be taken care of. It was the way of life for male lions. The courtships were short and passionate; they mated for the sake of continuing their bloodline, and would take many females while they were young, never laying eyes on the cubs they sired.

But as they matured into full-grown lions, they would begin to desire a pride of their own, and to do that they needed a lioness to stay with them. They would put all their effort into finding a lioness who was queen material; strong, beautiful and intelligent, preferably one who was much younger than they were, who could give him many healthy cubs. To attract that kind of mate, the lion needed to be impressive himself. A lioness would only leave her pride if the safety of herself and her future cubs could be guaranteed. So the loner would concentrate on building up his muscle become large and grooming himself.

Only the finest male specimens were successful in attracting the ideal mate. And even when they caught ones eye, they were at constant threat from other males trying to take her from him. The weak, smaller males would probably never get a permanent mate, and would live with the other males for the rest of his life.

If a lion was lucky enough to find and keep a mate with him, his immediate priority would be cubs, and lots of them. Once he had a large enough family established, other females might take notice and choose to join them. If the male could not get enough members, his pride would fall apart, and other lions, after slaughtering his children, would take his lionesses. This happened a lot on the savanna; prides would form and break up within a span of months. Groups like Mohatu's were old prides that had been established decades ago.

Ahadi, Kass and Rutto were drawing near the age at which Mohatu would force them out of the pride. The kindly king did not mean to be cruel, but there was only room for one adult male in a pride. It was the way of life.

"Whatever!" Rutto fell back to join them. "I'm ready! I want to find a mate and have my very own pride, I'll be the strongest king ever!"

Kass looked dejected. "But, I don't want to leave. I'll miss priderock, and mother and everyone else."

"Don't worry Kass." Rutto snorted. "It'll be a blast! Just think about it, no one to tell us what to do, to cranky old bags to boss us around, just you and me, roaming the land. Oh and, Ahadi too, I guess." He shoved Ahadi playfully. "What about you Adi? You pumped?"

The smallest in the group looked at his paws. "I don't know." He mumbled. He didn't want to admit it, but in reality, he agreed with Kass. He'd come to love priderock, with all of its rocky hideaways and secret passages. King Mohatu was a kind lion, and he'd miss his gentle encouragement. Queen Kifa was like his second mother. The others too, he'd become attached to. They'd accepted him in the darkest time of his life, and he'd never forget that.

Most of all, he couldn't stand the thought of leaving Uru. The spunky cub he'd met on his first day in the pridelands had since matured into a stunning young lioness. He knew that she'd make a great queen someday, the best in the savanna. Ahadi signed sadly. She was his best friend, and he couldn't imagine life without her.

And the idea of living on his own was terrifying. How could he even think of having cubs of his own when he felt little more than a cub himself? What lioness would want him with only half a mane anyway? He would end up wandering the land alone until the day he died.

"I have it all planned out!" Rutto was still talking. "I won't have to worry about leaving the pride, because I'm going to be king!"

Ahadi jerked to look at the larger lion. "What do you mean?" Kass gazed steadily at his cousin, understanding dawning in his eyes. "Uru." He murmured.

"That's right!" Rutto boasted. "Uru's going to be queen, so I'll make her my mate, and together we'll rule the pridelands! Isn't it a clever plan?"

Ahadi stared at the other lion in shock. "Y-you can't be serious!" He stuttered.

Rutto peered at him strangely. "Of course I am Adi! Why not? Uru's perfect for me, he's already training to take over from her dad, and damn, it doesn't hurt that she's smokin' hot!"

"Bu-but she's….she's **Uru**!"

"Duh!" Rutto snorted meanly. "She sure is! And I think she likes me anyway."

Ahadi couldn't wrap his mind around the idea. Uru like Rutto? He supposed it wasn't the most outlandish idea. Rutto was a good-looking lion, with rich, thick fur, broad shoulders and a thick mane. Any female would admire that. Why wouldn't Uru like him?

He found suddenly that his mood had deteriorated, and he fell into a defeated slouch. Rutto, in an uncharacteristic show of perceptiveness, noticed his companion's unhappiness. "Cheer up Adi!" He exclaimed. "It won't be that bad. When I'm king, I'll let you have any lioness you want. What about Nadra, we all know she's crazy about you."

"Wha-?" Ahadi choked on his own saliva. "No, that's not right, Nadra hates me!"

"No way bro, she's so into you."

Ahadi turned to Kass, desperate for the level-headed lion to reassure him that what Rutto said wasn't true. But Kass just nodded sympathetically.

"You mean you didn't know? Oh man Adi! Poor Nadra, this is hilarious!" Rutto fell the ground and rolled around laughing hysterically.

"But I though…I though…Are you sure?" Rutto just laughed harder. Kass frowned at his cousin. "It is kind of obvious," He said matter-of-factly. "It's hard to believe you didn't notice."

"But, she always pushes me, and shoves me into puddles, and throws dung at me, and steals my food!"

"Dude, that's called flirting."

"That makes no sense!"

Rutto shrugged. "Adi my man, girls make no sense. But that's what makes it so much fun!"

Ahadi fell silent, overwhelmed by everything he'd just heard. Oddly enough, the news that Nadra apparently fancied him didn't seem as important as Rutto's plan to make Uru his mate. Not wanting to think about it any more, Ahadi shook himself and sped into a run. "Come on you two!" He called to the surprised lions behind him. "Are we going exploring or not?"

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Many in the Lion King fandome debate over the matter of who Nala's father is, and if Mufasa was Sarafina's mate as well. That brings up the whole inbreeding issue, and it can get a little sketchy.

So this is my explanation for the existence of cubs who Mufasa did not sire. In my world, Nala's father was a loner who was not able to convince Sarafina to leave with him, and therefore just moved on and played no part in Nala's life. I think promiscuality is more forgivable than incest any day


	7. Wazimu III

A brief note at the beginning. TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! So yeah. I had to write TWO exams today, fml.

This one is short, so I apologize.

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A litter of three cubs; not really that uncommon, but reason to celebrate nonetheless.

Wazimu looked down at the pile of newborn cubs emotionlessly. One male and two little lionesses, not yet named. To him, they looked just like any other hour-old cubs he'd ever seen. They looked like Hofu when he'd first seen him, and, if his blurry memory of Kulen and Kulea's birth was accurate, they'd looked the same as well.

But that didn't stop their parents from cooing over their offspring like idiots. Half of the pride was gathered around Pili, absolutely gushing over the precious little prince and princesses. Vyeo was sitting at her side, chest puffed in pride at his beautiful new children.

"What're you gonna name them Pili, come one, you've got to know by now!" That was Huzuni, shoving her way to the front eagerly.

"Well…" The new mother whispered bashfully "I do have an idea, but I'm not really sure-"

Huzuni leaped to her feet, jumping from paw to paw in her excitement. "Well then, tell us! Come one, I'm dying from suspense!"

The older lioness giggled nervously. "I-I thought we could name one after my mother, Mbili."

Vyeo nodded. "A wonderful name my dear. How about this one, with that dark patch on her ear. It suits her well."

Pili readily agreed. But after that she seemed stuck for ideas. To her relief, Vyeo was more than willing to take the naming from there. The other female was called Moja, while the baby boy was given the name Tatu.

Wazimu felt eyes on him and turned to meet Kulen's stare. Wazimu ground his teeth together irritably. His younger brother had long since started getting on his nerves. In the time since Kulen's mane had started growing, he'd developed the dangerous habit of keeping track of the elder. His dark eyes were forever following him, and it unnerved Wazimu. Kulen was a threat, there was no doubt about it.

The king's second son was now at the point in his life when the young males were driven out of the pride. Just last week, the others his age had left. But as the king's son, Kulen had been given the option to stay, and he'd taken it.

As happens every time a generation of males leaves, the pride was in a peaceful period. For the few weeks leading up to their banishment, the adolescents are insufferable together. They would fight over the attention of the females, over the best pieces of food, a certain patch of shade. Right now the pride was experiencing a blissful break from their testosterone-fueled antics.

It has been known for the sons of kings to leave with his age-mates when the time comes. They would spend time with the others, building strength and developing his unique identity, finding himself, in a sense, knowing that he'd be welcome home at any time. It was actually unusual for Kulen to have chosen to remain in his father's pride without first spending time alone.

But it was obvious to anyone who paid attention why he'd not left. Wazimu looked over at the crowd around his stepmother, at one of the lionesses in particular. Her name was Siri, a pretty thing, But much to self-assured in Wazimu's opinion. She was younger than him by a few seasons, the same age as Kulea and Kulen. As he recalled, the three of them were good friends, and had been inseparable as cubs. Now, Wazimu's gaze traced the curve of Siri's subtly swollen belly.

Kulea looked up from the newborn spectacle and noticed Wazimu looking at something. Following his gaze, she whispered something in her twin's ear. Kulen snapped his head back up and fixed Wazimu with a dangerous stare. The two brothers held eye contact in an intense battle of wills for domination.

Kulen was expected, as the younger and less dominate male to lower his eyes immediately. But he held his older brothers gaze for much longer than what was proper in order to send a message. Wazimu was not to touch Siri. If he did, there would be consequences to pay.

When the younger finally lowered his eyes, Siri and Kulea were gone. Wazimu hissed in fury. Kulen was only trying to distract him while they slipped out of the den.

It was impressive that Kulen had found himself a mate at such a young age. And now, she was already pregnant. It made Wazimu look at his own position in the pride more carefully. He was the rightful heir to his father's kingship, but had he taken that for granted? With a popular lioness like Siri by his side, Kulen could win the support of the other lions. And when his cub was born, he'd have a secure continuation of the royal bloodline.

He had never put much thought into the matter, but it was clear now that Wazimu needed a mate of his own, and soon. He had many lionesses to choose from, but he needed one who met his specific criteria. The obvious choice was Vitimbi.

The older female had made no secret of her willingness to be his. She was an incredibly ambitious lioness, who had long since desired to be queen. She had a cunning mind, and the drive to get what she wanted by any means necessary. She was not quite as well liked as Siri, but the pride would respect her. She was a good choice.

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Well, that was short. But I just felt the need to get it out of the way.

I know a lot of people are waiting for romance between Ahadi and Uru, and next chapter should gratify you a bit. But the two plotlines, of Mohatu's pride and the Swampland pride, has a purpose. Eventually, the two will meld again. So even though the Wazimu/Huzuni chapters may not be what you look forward to, I hope they aren't too boring for you.

I'd like to know what you all think of my own characters, are they realistic? Do you like them? Which on is your favourite?


	8. Ahadi IV

**Sorry, just edited a couple things, to anyone who's already read this chapter, sorry!**

Ahadi found himself very distracted during the next few days. The life of the males in the pride was rather dull. While the lionesses were hunting, Ahadi, Rutto and Kass generally wandered around the plains near priderock, chasing small animals and generally goofing off. The other two never seemed to tire of the little excursions, but after walking the same ground so many times, Ahadi was fed up with that.

It was normally much better when the girls -more specifically Uru- were around. But after the thorough success of their premier hunt, the young lionesses had dove full on into the life of providing for the pride.

Ahadi lazily watched the fluffy clouds drift through the mid-afternoon sky. The sun beat down unforgiving, making the sand pile on which he lay radiate heat comfortably. The season's rains had relented, at least for today. The pride was taking full advantage of the nice weather, and everyone was loafing around outside. Ahadi was at the rear of the great rock, stretched out on his back at the edge of the sand pit.

Suddenly, a heavy weight came crashing down on his stomach. His breath rushed out in a strange whooshing grunt.

"You aren't paying attention!" Uru yelled in his ear from her position on top of him. "You said you wanted to watch our practice session, but you've so far spent to whole time watching the sky!"

After a bit of struggling, Ahadi managed to muscle himself up and shove his friend off of him. Grinning cheekily, Uru darted her paw forward and boxed the ruffled male on the ear. She then sprang away and skipped back to where Tabini was waiting to resume their training.

Normally, Ahadi would have just rolled over and continued on daydreaming, but this time he paused. That's what she expected him to do. He watched Uru stroll casually across the pit's sandy floor, her tail waving high cockily. No, this time he'd get the best of her.

Clearing the space between them in one bound, Ahadi crashed into Uru at full speed. They tumbled head over paws into the ground, raising a huge cloud of dust on the way down.

Uru's gasped in shock, the blow taking her completely by surprise. Ahadi had never been the type to rise to a challenge, and the unexpected retaliation dulled her usually flawless fighting skills.

But it didn't last long. Her wide brown eyes soon narrowed in gleeful competition, and she fought back hard. Even with their claws sheathed, Ahadi winced at the force of her blows. He bit down playfully on her ear, careful not to break the skin as they scuffled.

Funny, the impromptu wrestle was lasting longer than they normally did. Usually Uru would have him pinned in a submissive position well before now. Ahadi ducked as Uru took advantage of his momentary distraction. It wasn't that Uru was going easy on him, she was fighting with all of her usual passion, but-

And then he found himself above one wriggling, but very neatly contained lioness.

Ahadi and Uru stared at each other in shock, and from across the pit where she'd retreated to watch, Tabini's mouth hung open in astonishment.

Ahadi was straddling Uru, standing with his hind legs on either side of her body, and his paw resting on her throat. If his claws were out, they'd be in the perfect position to slit the vein in her neck. A perfect pin.

The role of victor felt strange to Ahadi. Him beating Uru, it just didn't seem right! Ahadi rushed to remedy the situation by jerking away from the defeated lioness, landing on his butt a few feet away. "It was just a fluke!" He babbled like an idiot "You've been working out all day, you're just tired! And I snuck up and it wasn't fair I'm sorry!"

Uru was slow in climbing to her feet. Her head hung and back turned, Ahadi couldn't see her face, and a thrill of fear swept over him that he'd injured her. Creeping forward tentatively, he craned his neck and tried to catch her eye. "Hey…Uru? Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you-"

Her head whipped up at that, golden-brown eyes glowering at him reproachfully. "Ha! Don't be ridiculous! You hurt me?" She swung towards him and crouched low, putting her weight on her elbows. "Rematch!" She demanded passionately. "Let's see if you can do it again!" Without waiting for a reply, she sprang at him, paws outstretched and ready to grab him.

Eventually they ended up in a sprawled heap, giggling like hyper cubs. Sure enough, Uru was on top. "See," Ahadi panted from under her. "It was just a fluke."

Untangling herself, Uru padded into the shade of a boulder. Plunking down beside Tabini, she rolled her eyes at him. "Oh don't be modest." She snorted, in much better spirits now that she had re-established her position as the strongest. "You've gotten stronger, there's no doubt about it." Twisting around, Uru scowled at a mat of muddy fur at the base of her tail. "Hey, be a pal will ya? Get my back for me?"

Ahadi settled down beside the young lioness and began to pick at the clump with his teeth. "This is really stuck!" He mumbled around the rust-coloured fur in his mouth. Uru sighed contentedly and stretched out leisurely. Purring softly she affectionately rubbed her face against Ahadi's shoulder. "Thanks Adi, you're the best."

He felt his fur prickle hotly and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He'd groomed Uru countless times, and been groomed by her in return. It was an important part of keeping bonds strong within the pride. But Ahadi suddenly felt strange. Maybe it was the way she was lying with her head resting warmly on his flank. Her eyes were closed, beautiful features relaxed into a small smile. His chest felt funny. Uru's nose twitched and she opened her eyes. "Eeeew gross, it smells like you rolled in dung!" She sniffed his leg. "Haha you totally did!" She opened her mouth and dragged her tongue along said dirty patch of fur. The rough skin of her tongue smoothed his fur back the wrong way, making Ahadi shiver involuntarily. Flinching away, he yelped "I can do it myself!" and hurriedly rubbed the dung away.

Uru made a face at him "Fine." She shrugged and put her head back down on her paws. Ahadi resumed cleaning her fur quickly, but he couldn't shake to alien feeling.

She had dazed off by the time he finished. Ahadi sighed and stared at her thoughtfully. From a little ways away, Tabini regarded the pair evenly. Ahadi felt awkward under her gaze. "What's that look for?" he grumbled at her.

Chuckling to herself, Tabini shook her head. "You two are cute, that's all." Getting to her feet, the dark gold lioness made to leave. "I'm gonna head back, don't keep her out too long, okay kid?" Ahadi huffed after her. Jumping up onto the boulder, she stuck out her tongue cheekily and disappeared into one of the huge rock's back entrances.

Over the next little while, Ahadi participated more regularly in the group's skirmishes. And as it turned out, his success against Uru hadn't been as fluky as he'd kept insisting. He found himself coming out on top just as often as not, even against Uru. He could beat the other lionesses with some ease. Tabini was the easiest to pin down, as her body was more slender and less muscular than her friends. Kisip was the smallest, being a tiny pale little lion, but made up for her disadvantage with her relentless energy and flexibility, and it took him longer to get her.

He tried to avoid fighting Nadra as best he could, as he'd felt extremely awkward around her since Rutto and Kass' revelation. But the tan lioness seemed determined to face him, and pursued him until he couldn't resist any longer. She was fairly talented, but he couldn't help but think that she paled in comparison to Uru.

Macka was a silent lioness, and easily the largest of the five females. She stood the same height as Kass and nearly as broad. She was the only one who was a match for Uru due to her brute strength. Ahadi had only managed to get her to fight him once, at Uru's insistence, and had only just won.

The rapid improvement of the pride's foster case got quite a bit of attention from the adults as well, and Mohatu himself made time to observe a few of their practice sessions. "Very well done young one." He complemented after Ahadi had managed to wrestle Uru down twice in a row. "It is good to see my confident daughter humbled and quiet for once."

Uru gave an incredulous exclamation and threw herself upon her father with a warlike cry. Roaring with laughter, the king rolled over in surrender.

Kifa sat beside Ahadi as they watched her mate and cub roll around together. Licking his ear affectionately, she pulled him close to her chest. "I'm proud of you sweetheart." She said lovingly. "Didn't I tell you that your time would come?"

Ahadi grinned at the graceful lioness bashfully. She smiled back. "And look at you, I do believe you've grown!"

It was indeed true. The growth spurt the queen had long been predicting had finally come. Though nowhere near as large as any of the other males in the pride, Ahadi was now at last larger than even burley Macka. It was clear that he'd never have the berth that the grass-pridelanders were born with, but he'd grown nicely into the slim leanness that he'd inherited from his birthplace. His mane was fuller now, silky and darker than even Kass'.

The young lion grinned at his mother-figure. "You called it." He said happily, leaning against her sturdy, but seemingly smaller, form. "Of course I did," The queen sniffed regally "Mother's always know these things. And you are my son Ahadi and I love you, I hope you know that. I know that I will never replace your own poor mother, but I hope that we have made you feel like this is your home." She looked up toward the sky, the blue reflecting in her sad eyes. "When you arrived, I was still mourning the loss of my only son. I saw you, the starving, heartbroken little cub, and you gave me a reason to keep living, you reminded me how precious life is. My womb will never bare cubs again, I have realized that having you -and Uru, of course- is more than enough."

Ahadi's throat felt tight and chocked. "I…I know." He said tenderly "You don't even need to say anything, I know." He pressed his nose tenderly against the top of her head "I love you too." They sat in comfortable silence, supporting each other's weight.

Until Ahadi felt a sharp pain in his tail, that is. He yelped as he was dragged back by the sensitive appendage. "Come on dummy!" Uru cried, releasing her hold on him "We're going for a run! Come on or we'll leave you behind!"

Certainly not wanting that, Ahadi raced after his friend, looking back once to smile back at Kifa. Then it was only the wind rushing though his fur, and Uru's bell-like laugh at his side.

N

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There's some cuteness from your favourite leonine couple. I smell HORMONES! I'd still like to know what you think of my Ocs.

If you are interested in seeing some art I've draw for this story so here

Http :/rhymeswithmonth ./gallery /#/d3h52br

AND

http :/rhymeswithmonth ./art/ Royal-Family-211326471

(w/out spaces)


	9. Huzuni II

Huzuni wasn't normally the type to hide from a friend, but Wakubwa had been acting really strange lately. Stranger than normal at least, he was a quirky guy on a good day.

He was looking for her, she could tell. The dull-brown lion was sniffing the air with a confused look on his face. Huzuni crouched even lower, wrinkling her nose at the horrible smell of the wildebeest dung that she'd surrounded herself with. It would have done a better job concealing her scent if she'd actually rolled in it, but really, she wasn't _that _desperate to stay away from him.

But it did the job well enough, and Wakubwa soon ambled away, presumably to keep looking for her somewhere else. Huzuni let out a sigh of relief. She felt bad, she really did. But Waku had changed recently. He'd started refusing to play with her. Whenever she even suggested that they wrestle or play tag his grey eyes would widen and he'd say no. Even pestering him made no difference, which really spoke for his changed self, because the old Wakubwa never used to deny her anything.

He was also super weird about her practicing hunting with the others. He'd sit on the side and watch, with a sort of pained look on his face. Every time someone knocked her down, he'd jump up and rush to her side, having a mini panic attack until he was sure she wasn't hurt.

It was infuriating, being treated like she was a fragile little cub when her first hunt was less than two seasons away. She was practically an adult, and although Wakubwa had looked after her ever since she could remember, as his mother had been the one to nurse Huzuni when she came to the pride, it was time that he realized that she wasn't helpless. If he'd just give her some space, she wouldn't have to be avoiding him like this.

Tiptoeing carefully around the circle of dung, Huzuni maneuvered her way out of her hiding place. Now she was free to do anything! Her day was open for adventure and fun. Her paws felt lighter than even as she pranced in the opposite direction Wakubwa had gone. 

Loosing Waku like this, it really hurt. He was her best friend and really, the only close friend she had. The other cubs weren't mean to her or anything, she just didn't fit in with them very well, and never had as much fun with them as she did with Waku or playing by herself. She did have a vague memory though, of the feeling of being loved and loving another cub more than anything else in the world. She assumed it was her brother in the memories, who'd been killed by rogues when she was just a baby. With Waku, it had felt like she'd regained that sort of kinship, and losing it all over again was a terrible feeling.

Lost in thought, Huzuni rounded a corner of one of the many hunting trails at a jog, and was sent sprawling forward, tripped by an unseen obstacle. twisting around quickley, she found herself staring up at Wazimu's smug face.

The prone lioness frowned up at him. "Heeey!" she whined "What was that for?" Wazimu shrugged his slim shoulders and withdrew the extended paw that had been the cause of Huzuni's ungraceful tumble. "Just wondering where you're headed in such a rush." He drawled nonchalantly. "I mean, I just passed your pal Wakubwa on his way back to hometree. He looked pretty down. Normally you two are off causing trouble at this time of day."

Huzuni's fur prickled uncomfortably and she pouted at the ground. "It's nothing" she grumbled, not meeting Wazimu's sharp brown eyes. "I'm just going for a walk."

"Oh?" his grin stretched wider "Is that why you were hiding from him?"

Huzuni snapped her head up and felt her emotions rising to strangled her. "I wanted to be alone that's all!" She wailed, startling her companion. "Waku's been acting so, so...UGH!" The rest seemed to spill out in a rush of exasperated words. 

Wazimu stood frozen, eyes wide in surprise. He listened silently, for once not cutting her off with a sarcastic comment. He even flinched when Huzuni, in an uncharacteristic show of temper, stomped her paw. She told him everything, Wakubwa's strange new attitude, her fading memory, the need to escape being smothered by her friend. 

But soon her flash of anger fizzled away, and she was left panting and feeling suddenly drained. She flopped down into a sitting position and heaved a heavy sigh. She certainly hadn't planned on spilling all of her worries to anyone, and certainly not Wazimu. If anything, she'd been thinking about talking to Kulea about everything, but now that she'd actually told Wazimu, she felt a lot better. 

Wazimu's mind was racing with the new information. He couldn't believe that Huzuni could be so incredibly naive. It was painfully obvious to the entire pride that young Wakubwa was hopelessly in love with her. Since Wakubwa's mane had started to grow, the gentle male had been trailing after the little lioness like a lovesick fool. And she didn't even understand why! It was hilarious! Wazimu shook his head in exasperation. The ignorance that the adolescent lioness displayed never ceased to amaze him. It was like she lived in her own little world.

Everyone assumed that when it was time for Wakubwa to leave the pride, Huzuni would go with him. It seemed the obvious conclusion. But it seemed that she did not return the affection, nor did she even realize that her friend desired her as his mate. It was an interesting development indeed.

Huzuni sniffed and looked up at him, her huge green eyes stared at him deploringly as if she was unintentionally seeking comfort. Wazimu reached out and patted her head with his paw, perhaps a fraction too hard to be truly amicable. "Don't worry little Huzuni." He cooed silkily "I'm sure your dear Wakubwa doesn't hurt you _on purpose, _he's just too selfish to see how you truly feel."

Huzuni seemed to regain some of her heart then. "He's not _my _Wakubwa." She huffed indignantly. "You're right, he doesn't really care about me, if he did, he'd leave me be."

"You can't hold it against him little sister, it's not his fault he isn't a true friend."

"Don't call me that."

Wazimu blinked, not knowing how to respond. "I'm not your real sister." Huzuni continued. "So don't call me that. You're my friend, my real friend because you understand me better than anyone." She grinned at him, shedding her depressed mood effortlessly. "Okay?"

Well this day was getting stranger and stranger. Wazimu smiled. Might as well just go with it, see where things go. "But of course...Huzuni. I'll be your best friend."

/

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Uuuugh this chapter was so forced. And it's from both Huzuni and Wazimu's POVs because I wanted to put it all in one chapter. All in all I'm not at all pleased with it. But oh well, anything to keep the story rolling, I promise the next one will be better!

ALSO, Since the timeline of this fic might be confusing some people, and quite frankly is confusing me too, I'm going to start putting the character's rough ages at the beginning of each one. Like in this one;

Wazimu: Late teens  
>Huzuni: preteens<br>Wakubwa: early teens

The younger characters will progress faster than the older ones since lions mature quickly.


	10. Ahadi V

The cave in the giant mouth-like crease of pride rock was warm and somewhat stifling at night, from the collective body heat of the dozing lions. Ahadi heaved himself up from where he lay between Uru and Kass and proceeded to weave his way carfully around his slumbering fellows. The air steadily got cooler as he made the short trek to the cave's mouth. Inhailing deeply, Ahadi sighed in relief. He'd been feeling more and more suffocated as the hours since sunset had passed, unable to sleep. Finally it'd gotten too unbearable and he decided that if he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well go for a walk. 

He stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight that spilled onto the floor of the cave. He paused and looked back over his shoulder into the darkness behind him. At she space where he'd been restlessly trying to fall asleep, at Kass curled neatly, tail tucked beneath his chin, beside Rutto who was sprawled out on his back. A few feet away lay Macka, snoring softly. Tiny Kisip was cuddled against her flank, smiling sweetly even in sleep. Ahadi had to grin at the sight of Nadra lying half on top of Tabini, who when awake, couldn't stand the other lioness any more than Ahadi. There'd surly be quite a ruckus when they woke. 

And, of course, his heart clenched painfully when his eyes landed on Uru. He just about collapsed there for the helplessness that had been the only emotion he'd been able to feel for the past few days. How could he even begin to imagine life without her? For time had done nothing to dull the tender feelings he had for the beautiful lioness. Quite the contrary, in fact, and it was now clear to Ahadi that he loved her more than anything.

He gazed longingly at his friends and tried to remember every detail of the scene. This would be the last time he'd see them like this, for when dawn broke tomorrow, everything would change. The three males would say their goodbyes to the rest of the pride and head out into the savanna, leaving behind everything they'd known, or in Ahadi's case, come to know. For the other two, it would be the first time setting foot outside the pridelands.

Reluctantly, he tore his eyes away and walked down the natural ramp that cut down the side of the giant rock. He walked slowly, his tail dragging behind him. _'I should savour each second' _He thought dismally. _'For I'll never walk this path again.' _ His claws sank into the soft grassy ground where to anchor rock sank below the turf of the grassland. So many memories had their roots to the places around him. All the events of their day-to-day lives that had seemed so…routine now came rushing back to him. How could he ever have thought that they had been just meaningless, normal moments? He recalled being bored often, on lazy days with the others at the waterhole. Hell, they'd even longed to leave the territory on some cub-like fantasy adventure. When he should have been enjoying peaceful time with his loved ones.

Now he waded into the black pool and sat on the very rock in the centre where he'd lain, too hot to move, on that day. He closed his eyes and pictured the scene. Nadra and Rutto were bickering about something or other; the heat had made them all irritable. Rutto shoved Nadra, sending her tumbling backward off their miniature island and into the water. She'd retaliated of course, and the whole thing had resulted in a snarling splash war.

When Nadra finally dragged herself back up on the rock, she took one look at Ahadi and shook, splattering him with blissfully cool water before plunking down beside Kisip who was gazing cross-eyed at a water bug perched on her nose. A thoughtful gesture, she wasn't all that bad.

He'd rolled over in the puddle dripping from Nadra's wet sand-coloured fur, and come to face Uru. She'd been watching the water-fight with a delighted grin across her muzzle, and now her eyes met Ahadi's. Her gaze softened and she graced him with a warm smile that made him tingle all over. 

The stars shone in the blank depths of the pool, and suddenly another lion appeared beside his sullen reflection. "Okay, you look waaaaay to angsty to be allowed at this time of night, or should I say morning?" Uru yawned, flopping down beside him. She rested her chin on her paws and rolled her amber eyes up at him expectantly. "Sorry." He sighed in response. "Did I wake you?" 

"Yeah." she said bluntly. "Your great thumping steps shook the whole rock." She stretched out, her spine popping audibly. "But no, I wasn't sleeping well either, so I thought I might as well join you."

"Oh? Why can't you sleep?" He decided to venture the question, his heart pounding in anticipation of her answer. She closed her eyes. "Same as you, of course, what did you think?" 

Well that was a start. He was beginning to feel nervous, doubting himself. But he pushed on-he wouldn't get another chance to find out how she felt about him, if she felt the same way. Under the light of the moon, with the buzz of thousands of insects the only thing breaking the silence of the night. It was the most perfect opportunity he could have hoped for, if he didn't take it he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

"I don't want to leave." He said, plain and simple. "I want to stay here, in the pride." 

Uru didn't seem to be at all surprised by that answer, but she said nevertheless "Why? I would've thought you'd be excited, all the freedom and stuff. Running around, no rules, doing anything you want. I know Rutto can't wait, and even Kass seems to want to go."

"Yeah well, I'm not Rutto." He grumbled, remembering the conversation from months ago bitterly. _'Rutto and Uru, hrmph.' _

"I know, I know." Uru said smoothly. "Of course I know that. But you must be looking forward to it a little, I mean, you'll finally be able to hunt for yourself like you've always wanted to."

"I guess that part won't be so bad, but other then that..." he trailed off, not sure what to say. That it'd be awful? That he'd hate every moment he was away from her?

"You'll be fine, I know you will. And you'll have Kass and Rutto there with you." 

Yes, having Kass there was a comforting thought. Ahadi genuinely enjoyed the other male's company. And Rutto was bearable...in small doses. But Ahadi needed to get to the point, the sky to the east was brightening ever so slightly, and then it would be too late. "But they won't be there forever, they'll find mates and have prides of there own someday, sooner than later most likely. They won't have trouble establishing themselves."

"You won't either! Is that what you're so down about? I'm sure you'll find yourself a mate in no time."

"Don't flatter me Uru, I'll be lucky if I even register in a lioness' day. I'm not blind, I'm much to small to start my own pride."

"Don't be ridiculous, sure you're a bit smaller than average, but that's only part of it! You'd make a great king!"

Ahadi opened his mouth to reply, but Uru wasn't finished. She'd gotten to her feet, and her voice was raising to a risky level, they weren't that far from priderock. "Any female would be lucky to have you! You're so...so smart, and funny and kind and beautiful and you're good with cubs, spirits know how rare that is in males. You're do darned perfect it makes me so angry sometimes and the worst thing is that you don't even know it! But that just adds to how charming you are! So who cares if you are as big as Rutto, it doesn't matter to me!" 

Well, he hadn't expected that. Ahadi gaped at his friend in shock. But inside his whole self was singing with joy. Uru had all but said that she loved him. He felt a goofy smile spreading unintentionally across his face, and he ducked his head to hide it. "I don't want to leave you either." He murmured softly, peeking up at her to watch her features change. Her eyes widened in mortification. She hadn't meant to say all that. 

But determination soon took the place of embarrassment, and she puffed up her chest. "Then come back." She said forcefully, her tone leaving no room for debate. "Come back to me someday." 

Well, now he was having fun watching her squirm, so he decided to play the idiot. "But Uru, that's not allowed. Your father would just chase me away again, you know that." 

Uru slumped in disbelief. "Idiot." she hissed and got up to leave. Woops, that was no good. "Wait Uru, I'm just kidding!" He called hurriedly. "Don't go." 

She glared at him, but thankfully stopped in her tracks. "Sorry." Ahadi apologized "I shouldn't be joking around. I'm just really...happy." His face cracked into a grin again, he just couldn't help it. 

"Yeah..whatever." She grumbled and settled back down "I mean...it's ok."

They fell into a not quite awkward but not totally comfortable silence. The sky was definitely getting lighter. "So..." Ahadi started, but fell quiet again. Uru huffed and shuffled closer, laying her head against his shoulder. "Shut up" she grumbled. Ahadi smiled gently and pressed his nose against her soft neck. They lay together and watched to sun creep up from behind the distant hills. When the orange orb was fully in the sky, they'd head back to priderock to meet with the others. They'd say their goodbyes and Mohatu would walk them to the edge of the territory in their final moments of being members of his pride. On the way he'd speak and give them advice that would be all they had to take with them on their journey. But now Ahadi would go with a lighter heart knowing that this was not the end, that he'd one day return to the land he had come to think of as home.

/

/

/

Better than the last one no?

So anyway, as for ages;

Ahadi, Uru, etc: Late teens


	11. Wazimu IV

Huzuni-mid teens

**Wazimu-young adult**

**Wakubwa&Hofu- mid/late teens**

Queen Malkia had not been particularly close to any of her children. Her mate had always been the more affectionate parent. The one exception had been for her eldest, the prince and heir to the pride.

While Vyeo showered his younger siblings with attention, Wazimu was content to have his mother all to himself. She taught him everything he needed to know, passing on all of her extensive knowledge to him. They spent hours together, just the two of them, training and teaching.

From her, Wazimu learned the most important thing of his young life. How to fight. She taught him, and showed him in little ways, that nothing on the savanna came easy.

"Trust nobody," She murmured "For even a brother will steal the prey from your mouth if he is hungry enough."

"_A brother?" Young Wazimu had replied quizzically. "You mean Kulen?" He frowned in confusion, eyes darting to where his baby brother lay snoozing, curled around his twin. It was hard to imagine the vulnerable little cub ever being able to steal anything from anybody. At just weeks old, he was a pitiful thing in Wazimu's opinion, always trailing after his sister and crying at the slightest prompting. "But he's just a wimpy baby."_

_Malkia's dark amber gaze turned to her youngest children as well. Although her eyes didn't exactly glow with love, her harsh features softened slightly, and Wazimu felt a pang of jealousy. He didn't like her paying attention to anyone but him. _

"_Kulen may be small now Wazimu, but he will grow quickly, there's a good chance that he may even grow bigger than you. He is your brother, and you will share that for as long as you live, but that does not mean you can relax around him. Kulea too, but she is a lioness, and will never pose much of a threat because of that." _

_Wazimu opened his mouth to protest. After all, being female didn't make you weak, just look at his mother! But Malkia kept him silent with a stern look. _

"_You must never let your guard down around Kulen, or any other male. You need to keep the lionesses in their rightful place below you. Your pride must be loyal to you, but also fear you, for that is the surest way to keep them bound to you. You will rule this pride my son, and many will try to take it from you. You will have to fight tooth and nail to keep what is yours by right."_

_She sighed long sufferedly. "Your father…he is a good lion. He is a good mate and a good father; he takes care of me and my cubs. But do not ever think that he is a good king. He loves everybody blindly, and it makes him weak. He loved his brothers, your uncles, and they betrayed him, one after another. He has the scars to prove that" _

_Wazimu knew the stories, his mother had told him over and over again, uncle Gat and uncle Uril. His father's two younger brothers. The three of them had been close, very close. Vyeo loved them more like sons than siblings because he was quite a bit older than them, and their parents had died when they were young. Along with their sister Kipkee, they'd ruled the pride as a unit, bringing it a time of prosperity. But it had barley lasted a full rotation of the seasons before Uril, the youngest brother grew unsatisfied with his lot. Between the other three, they'd managed to fight him off and chase him out of the territory. But it had shaken the remaining siblings deeply, and soon Gat followed Uril's example. But he was smarter than his younger brother, and took the time to amass a loyal group of followers before challenging Vyeo. He tried to persuade Kipkee to side with him too, as he loved her more than anything, and when she stayed with his brother, it broke his heart. The battle between the brothers was bloody, and though Vyeo once again came out on top, he was scarred forever, physically and emotionally. _

_Wazimu nodded mutely, having learned when he was very young not to interrupt her when she spoke like this. It was still hard for him to imagine Kulen -who hadn't quite learned to say his name right and cried 'Weemu Weemu!' whenever he saw him- as a threat. But his father had thought the same after all. _

Trust no one, there is no reward if you didn't make sacrifices, nothing comes easy, the strongest get the prey while the weaklings are left to pick at whatever is left over. His mothers words ran through Wazimu's head every day. He lived by the words of the dead queen, fighting, mistrusting and distancing himself from the other members of the pride. He didn't allow himself to form deep connections with his siblings, his father's story always fresh in his mind.

Over the years he'd even come to enjoy the struggle that living brought. It made the resulting victories even sweeter. That was probably why he so reveled in the way that fool Wakubwa's eyes trailed after him as he ran with Huzuni.

A few weeks had past since he'd agreed to be her 'best friend', and so far it had been an entertaining ride. The young lioness continued to amaze him with her sheer naivety and obliviousness. She was completely unaware of the negative reaction that her increased time in his company brought from the others.

Wazimu had gained the reputation of a loner within the pride. He had his 'friends' who were in reality more like followers. He scorned the gentle and friendly of nature, and he'd made no secret of his distaste for the adopted lioness. So for him to be voluntarily interacting with her was completely out of character. But he went beyond simply interacting, he engaged her in petty conversation, even stooped to _playing_ her games.

On her part, Huzuni took to her new companion delightedly. He was a commodity, a new playmate. And yet, he was a mystery, dark and puzzling. His unexpected bursts of temper that still showed up every once and a while didn't ever faze her for more than a few minutes. When he did snap at her, she just retreated into herself, and waited until he'd calm down before resuming whatever she'd been doing as if nothing had happened. She denied his cruel nature, and painted him out as lonely and misunderstood.

This aspect of Huzuni, it had been sweet and enduring when she was a cub. But as she grew into adolescence, it exasperated the whole pride. They treated her like she still was a cub, and she gave them no reason not to. They babied her and she let them. She wasn't a very talented hunter, and yet she never hungered because the other lionesses always made sure she got enough to eat. But some were beginning to resent her for that.

Wakubwa however, loved her for it. She could do no wrong in his besotted eyes. Her weaknesses only made him ach to protect her. It tortured him to see his gentle Zuni ensnared by the one thing he couldn't protect her from.

Wakubwa was leaving the pride in just a few days. He and his age mates were all set; all that was left was the ceremony.

Wazimu's brother Hofu, who was just weeks older, was leaving as well. It was a surprise to the whole family. Yes it was more common than not for a king's younger sons to set out on their own, but as Kulen displayed, sometimes they opted to stay.

Hofu was a meek little lion. Coddled by Kulen and Kulea, and bullied by Wazimu, he wasn't exactly the strongest lion on the savanna. They'd all assumed that he'd live out his days in the comfort of his family.

Wazimu had a guess why he was going. Hofu was desperate to get away from him. Of all the members of the pride, he'd suffered the worst of Wazimu's temper over the years. And frankly, he could care less. Let the little bugger run, it would be nice not to have to look at his haunted, accusing eyes every day. He was glad that he'd soon be rid of him.

And in just three days, he would. Just three more days to enjoy Wakubwa's hopeless jealousy. But Wazimu had one fear. There was a good chance that the younger male would confess his feelings outright to Huzuni, and ask her to come with him to be his mate.

The idea was laughable. What a pair they'd make! If Huzuni did set off with that lion to start a pride of their own, only disaster would follow. Wazimu could see it clearly, they'd never survive long enough for Huzuni to become pregnant, let alone birth him any cubs. With their combined lack of hunting finesse and reluctance to stand up to other lions, they'd either starve to death or get killed by rouges. Wazimu wasn't being biased either; he truthfully couldn't see it ever working.

But anyway, he wanted to make sure that there was no chance of that even happening, so he planned the ultimate insult to send young Wakubwa on his merry way.

It was a mild evening, and he flopped down with exaggerated flair in a clearing not far from hometree, purposely placing himself in view of where said young lion was resting. Huzuni, panting from the game of tag he'd just cut short skidded to a halt beside him.

"Heeeeyy!" She whined loudly, not seeming to notice Wakubwa watching them suspiciously. "What're you doing Wazi? Are you giving up?"

Pushing away his annoyance at the childish nickname, Wazimu plastered a fake grin on his face and moaned dramatically. "Oh but dear Zuni, you've positively run me ragged." Eliciting a thrilled giggle from her.

"Aw man, what do you wanna do now then? We can't go back home yet, there's still hours of daylight left, and you said we'd hang out for the whole day."

"I did say that didn't I," he agreed thoughtfully. He rested his chin on his paws and fixed her with a devious smirk. "What should we do indeed." With a playful growl he hooked his paw underneath her legs and pulled her down beside him.

Huzuni yelp as she landed half on top of him. Protesting noisily she tried to wriggle away, but Wazimu held fast. Her indignant squeals turned to laughter as he nuzzled her neck playfully. This was proceeded by much scandalous rolling around and although of course, Huzuni didn't see the scandalous side of it, Wakubwa certainly would. From his vantage point, he would be getting quite the show. Wazimu chuckled out loud.

At the sound of his laughter, Huzuni stilled. He peered curiously at her, wondering what had stopped her joyful antics. She was looking at him in a way that he was not all that comfortable with. "What?" He huffed defensively.

"I just don't ever remember hearing you laugh before, that's all." Huzuni replied, cuddling up against the mussed up hair on his chest. "I like it, you should more often."

This was just perfect, she was playing right along without even knowing it! The only thing that would make this better was if-

"I love you Wazi."

…

Oh. Well then. _That _was timed frighteningly well. He looked down at her, glad that her eyes were closed so that she could not see that twisted expression that had managed to creep onto his face. It had been his plan all along to get her to fall for him, but boy oh boy that happened fast.

Oh how he wished he could see Wakubwa's face right now! As it was, he could hear the swish of grass as the younger lion ran from the scene, presumably overwhelmed by the sight of his beloved cuddling up with another male.

Now what should he do? She was entirely vulnerable and they were now alone. He could take advantage of the situation and give into what his instincts screamed at him to do. But no, it was too soon. She'd said that she loved him, but that could mean several different things. At this point, she could still just love him as a friend, or even with the lingering feelings of brotherly affection. He needed to bide his time a bit longer, and be content with the glorious feeling of his prize nestled against him.

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I've been told that Wazimu seems similar to Scar, and I don't deny it. Both characters are manipulative jerks, are bitter and ambitious. But I'd like to point out some fundemental differences between the two.

I designed Wazimu to be a character foil (a character who serves as a contrast to another perhaps more primary character, so as to point out specific traits of the primary character.) of Ahadi. As apposed to Scar, the reason behind Wazimu's cruelty is his unstable mental state. He is slightly insane, and while in my opinion Scar is fully aware and unapologetic of the evil behind his deeds, Wazimu continuously justifies his actions to himself. He truly believes that what he does is for the best, and is completely within his rights. He also has more pride, and would never stoop to using hyenas as goonies.

Similarly, Huzuni has become a foil for Uru. My Uru is strong, independent, selfless, while Huzuni is weak, reliant on others and self-absorbed. Originally, I was going to write her as the ultimate victim, one who you'd always love. But then she started to develop a few unsavory traits, and I decided to go with it. Together, the relationship between Wazimu and Huzuni is meant to highlight just how much healthier Ahadi and Uru interact.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think of my characters. You've learned a little more about a few of them in this chapters. Like? Dislike? Hope to hear from you ;)


	12. Uru I

Uru gazed adoringly at the tiny bundle of tawny fur. The newborn cub nestled against her flank, kneading it's tiny claws in satisfaction. Uru leaned down and licked the little head tenderly, smoothing down the ruffled hair. Her heart felt like it would burst from love for the little miracle beside her.

"Uru!" A voice called from behind her. She instinctively curled her rust-coloured body around the cub, claws sliding out protectively. This delicate life was much too precious to risk any slipup.

Kisip came trotting into view, Tabini trailing behind her with her trademark 'could-care-less' expression on her face. Uru slumped, feeling silly. She'd let her maternal instincts take over even though she was perfectly safe, high up on pride rock and out of the reach of any predators. She heaved a heavy sign and put her head down as Kisip leaped up the side of the huge boulders and drew level with her.

"Hey, we're back! Here, we brought you a snack, Tabini has it. –Hey Tabs, hurry up!- If I hadn't seen her hunting, I'd swear that girl didn't know how to move faster than a turtle." Kisip shook her head in exasperation. Flopping down beside Uru, her eyes lit up with joy. "How's the little one?" She cooed. "Was she a good little girl while I was out?"

At the sound of a familiar voice, little Sarafina's huge ears flicked and she tottered to her feet to make her unsteady way towards Kisip. The cream-coloured lioness gently drew her new baby sister in and gave her a playful cuddle. "Thanks for babysitting for me Uru, it's such a relief to get out."

Kisip's mother had given birth just days ago, and was still recovering her strength. Marhem was quite old to be having cubs, so the pregnancy had been a difficult one, and she was still weak. As she was the only other daughter, and both her brothers were grown and had left the pride, it had fallen on Kisip to watch over her little sister until their mother was well again.

Uru felt heartsick as the heat of the cub's body left her side. Watching over her had been an absolute joy, and had awakened her maternal instincts with such overwhelming strength that it physically hurt. Sarafina was adorable, but what she really wanted was cubs of her own, hers and Ahadi's.

Tabini finally climbed onto the ledge that was serving as their resting place. She tossed the carcass of a large hare towards Uru. "Here ya go, lugged this fat thing halfway across the territory just for you! So you'd better enjoy every bite." The dark gold lioness collapsed dramatically beside her friend, still complaining. "I mean, Kisip didn't even help! She was off chasing freaking butterflies while I hunted for this thing. Then she didn't even offer to help carry it back, ungrateful little pipsqueak. The little runt is _her _sister."

Uru rolled her eyes, used to her best friend's surely attitude. In reality, Tabini adored the little lioness just as much as the rest of the pride. Her smaller-than-average size, huge blue eyes and cheerful demeanor made Kisip just impossible not to love.

Said lioness took her leave then, picking up Sarafina carefully, she bid the other two goodbye and headed towards the main cave where Marhem would be waiting to feed her cub. Uru's eyes followed her retreating form wistfully before pressing her chin to the ground.

Tabini noticed her companion's aura of gloom, but pretended to be oblivious. They had been best friends for as long that either of them could remember. They had been born within hours of each other, and their earliest memories were of blurry happy playtimes alongside their watchful mothers. Because of their shared birthday, they had pretended that they really were sisters, twins. So Tabini understood without being told that Uru was upset, and that she would eventually tell her what about. Uru was beyond grateful for that.

She stared at the limp piece of meat that lay across her front legs. She really was grateful that they'd brought the food back for her, but right now, the smell of fresh-kill just made her stomach clench. Perhaps this was imaginary morning sickness, she mused dully, brought on by deluding herself that she was pregnant. But she wasn't, there was no chance. Not with Ahadi gone.

She sank her teeth into the hare's cooling body and ripped off a chunk of meat. Gah, she hated the creature's fur, so soft and fluff, she tried to spit it out but it was no use. The downy hairs clung to her teeth and tongue, ticking the back of her throat. She dragged her tongue against her fangs in an attempt to scrape it off, but just ended up bighting herself. Coughing, Uru wailed in frustration "It won't. FREAKING. Come OFF!"

"Hey, hey, calm down." Tabini reached out and pressed her paw against the distressed lioness' side. "Come on, leave the damn thing for the buzzards, lets go get a drink." She led Uru the short distance to the water hole, her tail draped over her shoulders comfortingly. The russet lioness clung to the small contact feebly, feeling very shaky, like she might break down at any moment.

The crisp coolness of the water brought immediate relief, and Uru regained her calm as the hare's fur washed away, leaving her mouth fresh and moist. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Tabini watching her with one eyebrow raised. Her best friend was patient all right, but she was also relentless, a splendid hunter biding her time, waiting for the prey to come to her. She wouldn't leave Uru alone until she told her what had caused that panic attack.

"Hey, let's go to our place." Tabini prompted gently. "For some girl time, just you and me, like the good old days before life was complicated and stuff."

She was referring to a small clearing that they'd found deep in the vast briar patch that separated their territory from the flatlands to the southeast. The prickly forest was generally not a place where lions went, at least not unless absolutely unavoidable. A few times in the past, pride members had ventured into the thicket, but getting far was impossible. The thorny branches soon became to thick for any lion to pass through. At least, any adult lion.

Uru and Tabini had been in a mood for mischief the day they ventured into the cub-sized gap in the brush, sliding belly-down against the ground, careful not to catch their pelts on the grasping thorns lest their mother's notice the scratches and guess where they'd been. They weren't sure what they were looking for, but what they'd found was the prefect secret hideaway.

Full-grown Uru sucked in her stomach; the old tunnel was a tight squeeze despite all the renovations they'd made over the course of their childhood. She winced as a branch, pushed aside by Tabini, sprung back and hit her across the face. That was going to leave a mark.

They emerged into the fort, and Uru let out a breath. Coming back here always made her feel better. The late afternoon sunlight filtered in through the thin ceiling of criss-crossed branches, throwing dappled patched of yellow across the dirt floor. The naturally formed chamber was large enough to lit the two lionesses comfortably, and Uru settled down in the old dried moss that had formed a sort of nest for their cub-selves. It really had been a wonderful find, she thought fondly. The thorn bushes provided protection from any predators lurking around.

"You really miss him huh."

Her head sprang up, nearly gouging her eye on a protruding thorn. She glared at Tabini darkly. "Well, of course, I miss all of them."

"Ah but the way you've been acting, all depressed and the like, it's because he's gone, because he _abandoned _you."

"No he didn't! Ahadi isn't like that!"

When Tabini didn't reply, Uru looked over at her in surprise. She wasn't one to turn away from a good fight. But she balked at her friend's smirking face. They stared at each other silently, until realization dawned on her. Uru groaned in dismay. "You…you never said Ahadi, did you?"

"Nope!" Tabini cackled gleefully. She mussed up the sulking lioness's fur. "Chill out girly, I've known for ages."

"You have?" Uru cried in disbelief. "How? Who else knows?"

"Oh golly, I dunno, I think I heard Megera and Susila making wagers the other day about how long it would be before he came crawling back to your side. I think Ol' Meg is a bit appalled at the thought of accepting a foreigner as future king, she was kicking up quite the fuss."

Uru was mortified, but also angry. "Why that prejudiced old biddy! The mates of queens are always rogues!"

"Yeah but you know what she means. Normally they're former members of the pride, not an adoption case from far-away lands."

"So she'd be perfectly fine if I chose Rutto as my mate, despite the fact that he wouldn't be nearly as good a ruler as Adi. What a closed minded old-"

"Good thing it's not up to her then." Tabini soothed. "You will choose whomever you want in the end. And besides, I heard Susila and a few of the others defending him, there are quite a few who can see that Ahadi will be a great leader."

Uru's shoulders slumped tiredly. "Oh god, that means the whole pride certainly knows by now." Her eyes widened in horror, and she raked her claws against her ears. "Do my parents know? Does Daddy? Oh this is a disaster."

"Relax sweetie, Mohatu doesn't know."

"But how's that possible? You know how the elders gossip Tabs, he must've heard."

"He may have heard mutterings, but the old man is in deep denial. He still thinks of you as his baby girl, asking to be carried up steep hills. The thought of you mating with _anyone _just won't register in his mind."

Tabini was about the only one who could get away with talking about the king in such a way. Her close bond with Uru meant that the two of them were inseparable, and he and Kifa had come to think of her as a second daughter. They enjoyed bantering with each other; Mohatu said that it was refreshing to be treated so casually by a non-relative.

"Anyway." Tabini rolled over into a patch of sun. "Let me be the one to ask what _everyone _has been dying to know. Why did he leave? I would have thought that you'd have convinced Mohatu to let him stay and begin the training to take over the kingdom. What's the deal with that?"

Uru flinched. She supposed she should have seen that coming from miles away. It was, after all, what she'd been despairing about for the past week and a half. Tabini had her backed against a (very thorny) wall, and plus, she deserved to know. Might as well spill.

"What do you mean you're still leaving?" Uru demanded in astonishment, gaping at Ahadi in the pre-dawn light.

_The young lion groaned quietly and turned his head away. Uru, however was having none of that. She jumped to the side so that he was forced to look at her. "Uh-uh no way! I thought this was the whole point! Now you can stay here…with me!" She couldn't believe this was happening! It wasn't going at all according to plan. They were supposed to march up to pride rock, confront her father, announce it to the whole pride, postpone the other males' departure so that they could attend the ceremony where Ahadi would be named heir to the crown, then live happily forever after with their brood of babies. THAT was the plan (in her mind at least). And here he was trying to sabotage it!_

_Ahadi's eyes were pained as he stared at her. "You're taking this the wrong way, I want to stay, really I do! But I can't, there are things I have to do first." _

"_Things? What sorts of things are more important then our future?"_

"_My past." _

_She blinked, even more confused. "Your…?" _

"I need to go back Uru, to my birthland. Just to see it, you know? I need to go there one last time before I can truly be with you. It shouldn't take too long; I'll be gone for maybe a season. You'll wait for me, won't you?"

"_Of course I will." She whispered, voice cracking. "Just…don't make me wait for too long. Come back to me as soon as you can."_

"_Definitely" He grinned at her, nuzzling her tenderly. "I'll miss you Uru."_

"_I'll miss you too."_

"I'll kill him." Tabini snarled, but then took a look at her friend's sad face. "Or…maim him or..a stern talking to I guess. But he's not getting off lightly, he needs to be taught a lesson."

A faint smile appeared on Uru's face. "Thanks Tabs, for talking. I really needed this."

"Don't think of it sweetie, I just wanted fresh gossip to pass on." She joked.

The sun was very low now, and it wasn't an easy trek back in the dark, so the lionesses got up and headed home. As they emerged from the bushes, Uru turned to her companion. "He, Tabs?"

"Yeah what?"

"I'm sorry, for not telling you myself. I should have let you know the day it happened."

"Hey now," Tabini cooed cheerfully. "I'm still the first person you told right? So it doesn't matter! You weren't ready, and I understand."

The rust-coloured lioness grinned in relief. Everything was looking a little better.

"But I'm still gonna kick his ass."

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I debated whether or not to do an Uru chapter. This may be the one and only I ever write. Or not. We'll see how it plays out.

It's a well known fact that both Lion King movies are based on Shakespearean plays (Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet) But loosely, with quite a few differences. In my story, it's a bit less obvious, but it is based on a Shakespeare play as well.

Can anyone tell which one? And better yet, which of my characters corresponds to the characters in it? LET ME KNOW


	13. Ahadi VI

"No!" He moaned as he watched the wildebeest thunder away, fast disappearing over the distant ridge. Upepo and Meli were up and after them in an instant. Ahadi however, saw no use in joining the chase; it would be a waste of valuable energy that he'd need later, when there was a better chance to actually catch some prey. Although he was beginning to think that it was going to take a while.

Scattered around him, he saw the others' heads pop up from the long grass. They wore matching expressions of sheepishness. Rutto especially looked shamefaced, and Ahadi could guess that he'd been the one to make the mistake that spooked the herd. As usual.

Catching their own food had by far been the hardest adjustment for the adolescent males. In the weeks they'd been on their own, they'd all lost a considerable amount of weight. In fact, it had been an absolute nightmare at first. Kass and Rutto had had pretty close to no hunting experience since they were cubs, and hadn't ever killed anything bigger than a field mouse. With Ahadi's minimal knowledge, they'd barley been scraping by on the small mammals he'd managed to catch.

There had been numerous reasons beside their lack of experience. For one, as males, they simply weren't built for hunting. The lionesses' slimmer bodies were designed for the chase, while they were weighed down by the bulging muscles that were necessary in their roles as protectors of the prides. Ahadi had less trouble on that matter, as his body was more compact and streamline, ironically, a fact that had once plagued him. He'd even seen the others looking at him with jealousy as he carried a catch back to them. He had to admit that he reveled a bit in the role reversal.

The third problem had been their numbers, or rather, their lack thereof. To bring down big game, three lionesses would be an adequate number, providing that they were all seasoned huntresses. But it would take at least twice as many male lions to achieve the same result. Without help, Ahadi and his companions had been limited to small game.

Salvation came in the form of their new friends. Upepo and Meli were brothers who were a few seasons older than the three pridelanders. Hailing from the southern forests, they were the colour of wet sand, and landed somewhere between the muscular grassland structure and Ahadi's native wetland body-type. They were high-energy and cheerful individuals, whose enthusiastically sloppy attempts made them good hunting students.

The most helpful acquaintance however was the lion that the twins had been traveling with. Nyeu was also the most unusual lion Ahadi had ever laid eyes on. His fur was pale to a point where it could be called white, although not the colour in its purest. It was also thick and dense and grew in strange tufts from his ears and between his toes, which were attached to disproportionately large paws.

He was also smaller than even Ahadi, though he was build as sturdily as Rutto. His features were set in the centre of his round face, which sported a short, blunt muzzle and huge silver eyes. His mane too was odd in their eyes, growing thickly on his neck, chest and back, but was hardly present on his head.

All of this was normal in his homeland; Nyeu had explained patiently, obviously used to the astonished stares that the three youngest males had been unable to hide. His former pride resided high up in the hills in a distant territory. They lived in a sparse and rocky terrain and made their homes in the great labyrinth of caves there, and although the members were not all white, once in a while a cub would be born with very pale fur like his.

With Nyeu, Ahadi started to teach the other four how to hunt properly, and also learning a few things himself. Over the course of a few weeks, the group dynamic had improved, and they were moving on to full-sized kills. Kass had caught on effortlessly, and since Rutto was not one to be left behind, he was improving at a good rate too.

That wasn't to say that they didn't still make mistakes, as was just demonstrated. Rutto was being gently admonished by the white lion for whatever mistake he'd just made; Ahadi hadn't even noticed. It was starting to drag on him, the separation from Uru, and he'd been having trouble concentrating lately. He wished they could just book it to the swap and get it over with so that he could finally return, but the others weren't in such a rush. He'd hinted at his impatience, but even Kass was too absorbed in their new life to register his subtle signals. And Ahadi hadn't yet gotten around to telling them why he was in such a hurry.

He'd been putting it off out of nerves and guilt. Rutto had been clear in the past that he desired Uru for his own mate long before Ahadi had come to grips with his feelings for the beautiful lioness. To be stealing her away from him felt wrong, like he was breaking some sort of rule of friendship. He was loath to ruin the amazing bond that had formed within their little pride with matters that were currently miles away.

Oh but he ached to just talk to someone about the frustration that he was feeling. He longed for Kifa's wise presence. The noble lioness always seemed to know what was troubling him without him having to tell her, and she would supply a flawless solution as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was no wonder that she'd been made queen, he thought. All the other poor lionesses hadn't stood a chance against her.

Miraculously, the twins returned dragging a felled wildebeest between them. It was a sickly thing, old and near the end of its days anyway, but it was still meat, and enough for them all to eat their fill. And sunset found the band of males sprawled out, belly distended. "Oooh man, this is the life." Rutto belched heartily. Upepo and Meli purred in harmonious agreement. Nyeu shifted to soak up the last of the day's warm sunlight.

But Ahadi wasn't feeling quite as relaxed, so he got up with the intent to take a head-clearing stroll. "Hey buddy, where ya headed?" Rutto called after him.

"Just to the stream, I need to wash that feast down."

"Hey then, wait up! I'll come with, I'm parched." He heaved himself up and trotted after Ahadi, who grumble under his breath at his luck. He'd been looking for some peace and quiet, but with Rutto along for the ride that hope was now out of reach.

But he slowed to let the larger male catch up. Ahadi stayed silent the entire walk, letting his companion fill the air with his usual mindless chatter. Something something headed north…blah blah blah antelope, yadda yadda right hind paw. It went along those lines. Insert smile and nod. At least Ahadi didn't have to pay attention, because his mind didn't seem to want to stay in one place at the moment.

At the riverbank, the two lions crouched side-by-side at the water's edge. Rutto drank enthusiastically, lapping at the water with the vigor he threw into every task. But after one mouthful of water, Ahadi pulled back and stared at his reflection. Right now would be a great time to tell Rutto about his and Uru's relationship. He stared at himself in the water's surface. His own green eyes stared pathetically back. He dunked his head under the water, and held it there, eyes clenched tight.

He'd been under for about a minute when he heard muffled voices. Dragging himself out, he panted for air. Shaking the moisture out of his mane, he turned to Rutto to enquire to why he was talking to himself, but cut himself off when the other male was nowhere to be seen.

Ahadi spun away from the water and perked his ears to pick up the voices again. It wasn't hard, Rutto was practically shouting. And there were two other voices too, softer, unintelligible. Had the others decided to come along after all? He parted the long grass this his muzzle and stepped through.

Nope, definitely not any of the guys.

Ahadi had never seen Rutto this way. He'd seen goofy Rutto, nasty Rutto, angry Rutto, and happy Rutto. This, he guessed would be called flirtatious Rutto. No, he'd seen Rutto flirt before, with Uru and the others back home. This was _predatory _Rutto. His teeth were bared in suggestive leer, his chest puffed out in top form. The objects of his attention wore similar expressions on their beautiful faces.

Twin lionesses they were, older than them. They appeared beautiful and very bold, and that was clearly what had Rutto so excited. As Ahadi watched, one of the lionesses pushed her head underneath his friend's jaw, and slid her face down his shoulder and across his flank. Their purring was audible from where he stood. He felt his jaw drop open. Not. What. He'd. Expected.

The lioness who'd plastered herself against Rutto's side opened her ruby eyes and noticed him first. She grinned widely, baring pearly white fangs and purred huskily "Well then, is this the friend you were telling us about?"

Her sister's ears perked up and she fixed her gaze on him. Her directness was unnerving and he fought the urge to look away. Instead he waited until she dropped her eyes with a small smile (that made his stomach churn uneasily) and sent a questioning glance toward his friend.

Rutto was beaming his goofy 'I've-just-found-a-huge-piece-of-meat' grin at him, wiggling his eyebrows enthusiastically. _'Veeery subtle you idiot.' _

"Hey man! Meet Mislei and Verlei, I was just telling them about you. They live in a forest that's just a day's journey from here." His tone was formal and polite, but his eyes beamed to Ahadi his lurid excitement, his dark brows wagging at him suggestively, "They want to…hang out for a while, you in?"

One of the two, the one who'd looked at him so intently, stepped up to him and sniffed at his muzzle in greeting. "Come along, we'll…show you around." Her voice was deep and throaty, lilted slightly in an unfamiliar accent. They haled from the same pride as Upepo and Meli, but their appearances were even more exotic. Their fur was the darkest he'd ever seen, a rich brown that was close to black. The eyes that flashed at him were deep amber.

His legs felt slightly shaky as her scent filled his nose; it was heavy and floral from the lush plants of her jungle home. We stepped away, shaking his head jerkily. "N-no, thank you." He said, "I've…got to get back, the others will be wondering were I am."

He barley registered her huff of disappointment as he scrambled away. As he retreated, he heard Rutto reassuring his pretty new friends, "Don't worry my dear, he's just a little shy. We can still have fun just the three of us…"

AS the sun dipped below the horizon, Ahadi paced along a narrow stream. In the distance, he could see the lush green strip of the jungle that was home to the local pride. He can to a stop in the shadow of a young baobab tree. Groaning aloud he leaned against the smooth trunk and slid to the ground limply.

He felt shaky. How pathetic was that, he though bitterly. One little confrontation with an interested lioness and he was reduced to a shivering mess. One interested lioness _who wasn't Uru_. He clenched his eyes tight and rubbed at his muzzle with his paw roughly. He couldn't allow himself to even look at other lionesses, he couldn't do that to her.

But wait…it seemed like Rutto could? Ahadi's head snapped up and his eyes widened in horror. He'd left him there with them, just allowed Rutto to be alone with those two…overly friendly females. How could he be so stupid? No wait a second, how could Rutto be so disloyal? Did he not claim to be in love with her? Had he not babbled, for months on end, about how she was his destined? And yet now he was throwing himself at the first potential mates he stumbled upon! It was disgusting!

Ahadi's ears rang with rage at the slight against Uru. He supposed he should be happy about this strike against Rutto's character, as a rival for the one he loved, but all he felt was this burning anger and embarrassment at his friend's behaviour.

A slight creak of wood was the only warning Ahadi got before a sudden intruder interrupted his brooding. He pulled his lips back in a startled snarl as an invisible assailant seized his ear and tugged.

With his newly honed hunting skills, he twisted around and dislodged the grip of whatever had grabbed him. Jaws gaping, claws unsheathed, he whipped around, trying to pinpoint his attacker. But all he could see was the blank trunk of the tree, and the green plains beyond. A sharp pain tingled up his neck as something yanked at his mane. Ahadi yelped and spun again, eyes darting around frantically. Nothing! All that he could hear was the rustling of the leaves above him…

The leaves! He jerked his head up and fixed his glare upwards. Bingo! A shadow darted out of sight behind one of the thick branches.

"Come out!" Ahadi snapped, "Come out and show yourself!" He waited a minute, gazing unblinkingly at the spot he'd seen the figure disappear.

After a long silence, a voice trickled down the trunk of the tree, "I'm not stupid." The voice grumbled, "There's no way I'm coming down there, you'll eat me!"

Ahadi's hackles relaxed and he let his claws slide back in. He could tell from the dip and pitch of the voice that his surprise ambusher was a primate, and a young one at that. Monkeys and apes tended to have a lilting, hooting intonation when they spoke.

"Don't worry," he called gently, "I'm not going to hurt you. You just surprised me is all."

At that, a round, blue-gray head poked around the branch, two enormous yellow eyes boggling at him from above the strange, red nose. An adolescent Mandrill, Ahadi smiled at the youngster's guarded expression. "Come on, you've got my attention, what do you want?"

The Mandrill pouted and picked noisily at the bark of the tree, causing flakes of wood to rain down in Ahadi's face. His long, sticklike fingers were smudged with something bright orange, the wrinkled knuckles lined with dark brown. It was leaving colourful streaks along the tree's dull brown surface. "I dunno," He huffed, shrugging his skinny shoulders "I guess I just…have never talked to a lion before…or something." His eyes lifted briefly to connect with Ahadi's, "I was curious about what you were like."

"And?" Ahadi grinned, trying to coax the little monkey out further, "Did I live up to your expectations?"

"Well," the scrawny little guy crawled along his perch, closer to Ahadi, "You were very scary at first, just like everybody says, but then you got nice. I didn't expect you to be this nice."

"Everybody who? Who's been spreading these nasty rumors about us lions?"

"Oh just the others in my troop." The mandrill cracked a small, bitter smile, "But they're all dumdums anyway, who'd rather sit around in their own poop blabbing than actually bothering to find out the truth."

"That's not a very nice thing to say about your family." Ahadi said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah well they're not a very nice family."

"Oh come on, they can't be that bad."

His companion didn't reply. The youngster had draped himself dejectedly over the end of his branch, long limbs hanging awkwardly on either side. Ahadi had never seen a monkey sit that was before, and he cocked his head quizzically. "Really, what have they done to earn such scorn?"

The colourful, wrinkled face was pressed against the bark, and so his reply came out muffled, "They hate me."

"Really? I find that hard to believe. You're a very…interesting kid. I've certainly never met anyone like you."

"That's why they hate me!" His voice rose into a distressed shriek at the end, "They think I'm a freak! Just because I don't want to sit around and pick bugs off their backs, because I'd rather do my paintings than groom their filthy behinds. They sneer at me and call me names and throw rotten fruit at me. They say I'm a weirdo, that I'll never fit in."

Silence rang between Ahadi's spot on the ground, and the young primate's lofty position. The lion used the pause to mull over his next words carefully. It appeared that he'd initiated some sort of emotional breakdown, and he didn't want to say the wrong thing. "You know…" he began, reclining lazily against the base of the baobab, "I think you approaching me was very brave."

"…Yeah?"

"Definitely. Not a lot of animals have guts enough to talk to me. It gets kind of lonely in all honesty. I really admire you for daring it."

"Aww well…" The monkey's spiky head lifted slightly and his yellow eyes came back into view, "It wasn't really a big deal."

"No really, it was!" Ahadi could see his words having an affect of the mandrill, whose chest had inflated with pride. A small grin even appeared on his flat face.

"You know what? I bet none of those bullies you talked about would have had the courage."

"No, no they wouldn't." The smile grew wider with each word, until it split his face crookedly, like a jagged half moon. He sat up on the branch, his long tail swinging happily.

"Hey, what's your name?" Ahadi asked with a smile of his own, "I'm Ahadi."

"Rafiki, my name is Rafiki."

"Well Rafiki," Ahadi got to his feet and braced his front paws against the trunk, stretching as high as he could until they were almost at equal height, "You said something about painting? What is that?"

Smiling impossibly wide, the monkey leapt to the ground, all previous fears and unhappiness seemingly forgotten. "Come on, I'll show you!" He crowed joyfully, bounding off through the grass, "It's the most wonderful thing in the world! You mix different pants together and crush them to make this paste and then you can create beautiful thinks with them, just wait and see!"

Ahadi trailed after his new friend slowly, and tried to force the dark heaviness from his heart. It was no use dwelling on Rutto's actions, he was who he was and there was nothing Ahadi could do about it. For now he just needed to focus on distracting himself until he could get to the land of his birth, and then he could finally return to Uru, to his one true home.

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Long time no update! This chappie felt a bit filler-y, but oh well, every bit of development counts. And we got a Rafiki cameo! Yay! I make him into a bit of an angsty teenager, I dunno if you guys'll like that or not. Oh well, he's still a spazz. The scene with him bothering Ahadi from the tree was inspired by a show I was watching on Animal Planet where a chimp hung from a tree and kept poking a tiger- it was adorable! I thought it seemed like something ol' Rafi would do.

Last time I said incorrectly that TLK was based on Macbeth (Thanks Shiningheart of ThunderClan for the correction) when it was really based off of Hamlet. It's just that I've studied both plays in depth, and to me, TLK has a whole lot more similarities to Macbeth. The only real thing I see on common with Hamlet is that the king was killed by his brother. From there, there are not many real parallels. I mean, Nala certainly is no Ophelia. She's more like MacDuff, who traveled to summon the dead king's son Malcolm back from his self-imposed exile.

But no matter, this story is also based off of Hamlet then, but the parts that Disney didn't chose to focus on. I see a lot of Ophelia in Huzuni, and I guess Ahadi would be more of a Laertes then. Strangely enough that makes Wazimu Hamlet, Ahadi's father Polonius, and Malkia King Hamlet Sr. Hmmm… interesting, I'm okay with that. But ANYWAY, I really enjoyed Hamlet. Favourite Shakespeare that I've read.

As ever, I'm curious about how you guys like my OCs. So far, it seems like Wazimu is the favourite so far. WHAT DO YOU THINK?


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